Blessed
by draconicBastard
Summary: Sequel to Unfortunate. Zim and Dib are so blessed to be together, but will they be able to remain that way? A war begins with Gaz, the Meekrob, and Irk, Zim and Dib somehow get caught up in it. :o Enjoy. Part two in a trilogy now :3
1. Away

Chapter one: Away

Dib stared up at the bright, star covered sky. This planet had a weird atmosphere, you could see the stars, but instead of a black backdrop, the sky was orangey pink. It reminded Dib of earth sunsets. The sand beneath him felt like velvet on his bare back. The water his legs were submerged in was warm and soothing. And the best part, this kind of water didn't hurt Zim. So he had his legs in it too, his head on Dib's chest, snoozing softly.

This had to be the best vacation Dib ever had. Until some jerk spilled his drink all over Dib's chest, waking up Zim. He shot up angrily and yelled some things in Irken. It did not sound too nice. The poor guy who spilled his drink scurried away quickly, obviously regretting being clumsy. "Was that really necessary?" Dib asked, laughing at Zim's hostile expression.

"Of course, how will people know they're idiots if no one tells them?" Zim asked innocently. Dib laughed and grabbed Zim around the shoulders. Zim laughed and clung to him, anger forgotten. "You're all sticky," Zim pointed out.

"Well, let's fix that," Dib said playfully, knocking Zim into the warm water, jumping in after him. Zim didn't get mad, but he splashed Dib in the face. Both of them erupted into a splash fight. Eventually though they got tired and went back to their hotel room. They walked the whole way holding hands, people stared with confusion and even hatred, but Zim just grinned and did what Dib guessed was the equivalent of flipping them off.

Dib would've scolded Zim for being mean to people he didn't know, but Zim's defense against the stares only warmed his heart. Zim really _did_ care. When they got back Zim lounged on the couch opposite of the windows. "I'm gonna go get dinner," Dib said, knowing there was food here that they could both eat.

"Kay," Zim sighed, starting to snooze on the couch. Dib watched Zim breathing for a minute before heading out. Dib was walking down the hall happily when a thought struck him, was Dib the girl in this relationship? He literally stopped in the middle of the hall to think about that. Zim was sleeping a lot because he was a little bored being here, and Dib was doing most of the shopping and cooking. And Zim's personality was very male…Dib shrugged it off. He wasn't a girl, no…no he wasn't. Dib twitched, he would keep denying this to the grave.

Dib got several sorts of foods, not knowing what to make, and too lazy to decide right there. On his way back he saw something that gave him an idea, something that would so make him _not_ the girl. It was always the male that bought flowers, right? Yeah, guys in movies always get the girls flowers. Zim probably wouldn't care about flowers, but it would ease Dib's paranoia.

The shop had all sort of foreign flowers. They all looked amazing to Dib, but he quickly realized he had no idea what one Zim would like or what ones were the romantic ones. He went to the front desk where a tall man was reading some space magazine. "Um, hey," Dib said, unsure this guy knew anything about flowers.

"Hmm, hey, cutie. My name's Jack Harkness, there something I can help you with?" Jack asked in a low voice. He was trying to come on to Dib. It reminded of when he was a kid and people made them watch tapes of kids being lured by sick adults, and then warn them not to talk to these people. He shivered. If Zim knew there was a man here coming on to Dib…all hell would break loose.

"Uh, yeah. I'm not from around here…so what kind of flowers," Dib gestured to the gigantic range of flowers the shop had, "are the romantic type?"

"Why? Is there a little lady you wanna impress?" Jack asked, a little dejectedly.

"Sort of…" Dib sighed, almost correcting him, but figured it'd be a waste anyway.

"Hey! Someone needs help up here!" Jack called to someone in the back. He went back to the magazine, seeing that Dib was taken.

"Yeah?" A cute, British, blonde girl said. Dib recognized her immediately.

"Hey, Rose!" Dib said, causing Jack to look up.

"You know each other?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, we met once," Rose told him, leading Dib away from Jack, who shrugged and kept reading. "Hey, so you're getting flowers?"

"Yeah," Dib said, blushing a bit.

"What kind do you need? For your mum, for a girl…" Rose trailed off.

"I need some…romantic kind…See he knows these other planets and I don't, so I need help finding the right ones," Dib said quickly, looking away.

"He? Who is it?" Rose asked, getting giddy.

"Well…you've met him…" Dib said.

Rose gasped loudly. "The little green guy?" She asked.

"_Zim_," Dib corrected. Rose giggled. "What?"

"I knew it," Rose giggled.

"You did not," Dib denied.

"I did so, when we met. I so called it," Rose said happily.

"Whatever," Dib said, his face completely red.

"Here," Rose said, still giddy about the whole thing, as she handed Dib a bouquet of something that looked like lilies. Dib knew they weren't lilies, because these had huge thorns.

"They look…pokey…" Dib said, unable to describe the flowers.

"Yeah, thought a guy coming from a species who likes to destroy things would find it romantic," Rose reasoned. She had a good point. "So…it's pretty fun to date an alien, huh?"

"Yeah…" Dib smiled, thinking over the past week they'd shared on the vacation planet. He would never forget it.

"You're parents handling the whole 'my son is dating a gay alien' thing well?" Rose asked. Dib's eyes went dark, revealing a spot he hadn't thought of since coming here.

"Well…I already didn't have a mom, being biologically engineered by my dad. And my dad…passed away a few months ago," Dib confessed.

"Oh…I'm sorry…" Rose said, lowering her head, "My mum hates the Doctor…most of the time. I think she trusts him now."

"Yeah…before my dad passed away…he sort of accepted us. He saved our lives and apologized for the things he did to Zim…" Dib said. "I think even Zim has respect for him now."

"Well, that's good," Rose said, smiling again.

"Hey, why don't you guys come over for dinner?" Dib suggested. He liked talking to Rose, and they hadn't had anyone over yet. Sure, the solitude together was nice, but Dib missed being around other people.

"Sure!" Rose beamed, "I'll bring the Doctor and Jack. It'll be loads of fun! Is Zim going to cook? The Doctor told me Irkens make really good food, especially the Invaders."

"Really? I didn't know that. Sure, he'll be cooking," Dib said. He'd have to kick Zim in the butt for not telling him he could actually cook.

"Alright, see ya then," Rose said with a wink. Dib gave her their room number and left, feeling proud for being a good boyfriend and getting flowers…even if they were scary flowers. Maybe the flowers would make up for Dib inviting people over, Zim hated people, especially people like the Doctor. Dib hoped they could have a peaceful dinner with good terms from both of them. And he also hoped Jack didn't flirt…then there'd be a body to clean…and Dib would have to do it because Zim doesn't like germs…then the bleaching…and then they'd probably have to leave the vacation planet, and Dib wasn't ready to leave yet. So Jack had better be polite.

Zim was so adorable; Dib almost didn't want to kick him off the couch. He was reclined with his arms behind his head and his legs spread far apart, still wearing the swim trunks from earlier. Dib wanted to jump him. But instead, he lightly crawled on the couch, careful not to wake him. He slowly placed his hands under Zim, and uplifted him into the floor.

"HEY!" Zim yelled, then caught Dib snickering on the couch. "Oh…uhm…sex now?" Zim asked, confused.

"N-no…Zim…not now. I got you something though," Dib said mysteriously. Zim looked suspicious until Dib pulled a bouquet out from behind the couch, then Zim seemed overwhelmed.

"Dib…that's…those are…those are Smoo'sch's!" Zim exclaimed.

"Yeah? You know them?" Dib asked, feeling very proud of himself.

"Uh-huh," Zim said, taking the flowers in his hands and playing with the thorns, "On most planets, Smoo'sch's are a gift of devotion from the female to the male." Zim left to the kitchen while Dib cursed in his head. Rose did that on purpose…she was evil, that one. Zim didn't seem to take the flowers as any sort of sign, and he seemed rather impressed by them.

"Hey, space boy!" Dib yelled, picking up the groceries. "You didn't tell me you can cook."

"What…?" Zim asked confusedly, coming back to see Dib standing with bags in his arms.

"Someone told me that Invaders know how to cook," Dib accused. Zim turned a darker shade of green.

"Uh…yeah…" Zim stuttered. Dib shoved the bags in Zim's arms.

"Get to cooking," Dib ordered with a grin. Zim seemed to get angry for a minute, which didn't surprise Dib in the least.

"Fine, I will. And you'll _eat_ it too. It'll be the best meal you've _ever_ had the FORTUNE to put in that _gaping hole_ on your face!" Zim yelled, pointing at Dib's face.

"It better be….we have guests coming over," Dib announced. Zim seemed startled by that.

"Wha…who?" He asked. "Where did you meet them?"

Dib answered before Zim could get even more paranoid. "Calm down, it was just Rose…you know the blonde British girl who helped get you away from my dad that time. Her and the Doctor…and some Jack guy they know," Dib explained.

"Rose…?" Zim echoed. Dib looked at the clock.

"Look, space boy, we spent all day at the beach. Go get started on dinner!" Dib said, panicky.

"Pfff. Fine. But only because ZIM wants to!" He yelled and stormed off to the kitchen. Dib fell back on the couch, happy that finally he didn't have to do anything.

…

"No…I'm not going to eat with a _Tradis-stealer_!" The Doctor said firmly.

"Oh come on, he's not so bad. Besides, we're going for Dib anyway, you know, the human boy," Rose reminded him. "I knew they'd get together you know."

"Yeah yeah. I still don't wanna," He said. Then he thought about it. "Which one is the girly one, though?" He asked, peering at Rose.

"Who said there is one?" She asked back. "They can both be manly you know."

"Yeah…but…if you had to choose one…?" He asked.

"I'd have to say, Dib," Rose said, nodding.

"No way," Doctor said slowly. "Zim has to be the girl."

"You're only saying that because you don't like 'em," Rose pointed out.

"Hey, hey, hey," Jack intervened. "_I'll_ be the judge of all this."

"Jack Harkness, don't you dare," Doctor said, pointed at him threateningly.

"What?" He asked innocently.

"So are you going?" Rose asked hopefully.

"I guess…" Doctor said sadly, "But if I win, I get to choose our next destination."

"Not the Meekrob planet again…" Rose groaned.

"Yes. And if you win, you can choose," Doctor reasoned.

"Italy," Rose said excitedly.

"It's a deal then," Doctor said and they all shook hands. The Doctor and Rose not knowing why they shook hands with Jack, or even why Jack was there.

…

"That smells good," Dib sighed from outside the kitchen. He knew if he stuck his head in again that Zim would just throw something at him. So he stayed in the living room, waiting impatiently. The smell of the food was driving him crazy, it smelled way better than anything he could cook.

Dib looked over at the makeshift dinning table. Zim had gotten them one of the nicer rooms, so there were a couple of card tables there. Dib simply pushed them together and draped a cloth over it. The tables were large enough that Dib was sure it could accommodate them all. "Hey, Dib-stink! Come get the food," Zim called. Dib rushed in, anxious to see what smelled so good. On the counter was a huge roast-type meat with yellow and orange sauce dripping all over it. There were several side-dishes, but it was the roast that made Dib's mouth water.

"On Irk, if we ever make our own food we just eat it right when we make it…but I suppose you want to enforce some earth tradition?" Zim asked, crossing his arms at Dib.

"Um, yeah. I'll set the table," Dib said, not taking his eyes off the food. He set the table as Zim watched him.

"You're not allowed to eat it until our 'guests' get here, right?" Zim asked with a smirk.

"Um," Dib thought about lying about that, but just as he was considering it, the door rang. "I'll get it." Zim rolled his eyes and sat on the couch.

"Hey," Rose said happily. "Something smells good."

"Yeah, Zim made…a roast…thingy," Dib said, noticing the grumpy look on the Doctor's face. Jack winked at him as he passed. Dib got shivers, this was going to be a long night.

"So, the Irken made dinner?" The Doctor asked, grinning at Rose.

"Yeah," Dib said, closing the door and wondering why Rose looked so miffed. Dib led them all to their crappy table and they sat down. Zim came in and joined them, looking completely bored with the whole ordeal.

"So, you're here on vacation?" Rose asked politely.

"Yeah, Earth's kind of hectic right now," Dib said.

"What do you mean?" The Doctor asked.

"Well, it's been sort of overtaken," Dib told him, he looked worried, "But it's just my sister, so it's okay. The people of Earth actually like her being their leader, I think."

"Oh, well…" The Doctor said awkwardly. He looked at the food and eyed Zim suspiciously, who didn't even notice. Rose and Dib chatted about random things, mostly having to do with Earth. Zim just ate and seemed bored, not even listening to them talking. The Doctor didn't eat, and Dib wondered if he did eat, he just stared at Zim. And Jack…well, Jack was alternating between staring at Zim and Dib, seemingly planning something. Dib ignored him, Zim ignored everyone.

Finally all the food was gone and Rose and Dib were contemplating on how good it was compared with Earth food. Zim was taking plates to the kitchen as Jack leaned toward Dib and started whispering to him in a low, sexy voice. Zim stopped for a minute to watch.

"Hey there human boy, you know you don't have to stick with an alien. How 'bout me? I'm human," Jack said seductively. He leaned in and kissed Dib with both hands on either side of his face. Dib's face grew hot and red as he heard the crashing of broken glass. He looked over at Zim who hadn't moved, but dropped all the plates on the ground.

"Oh, now you've done it, Jack," The Doctor sighed irritably. Zim glared at Jack with hatred and pulled a laser gun from his pak.

"He's MINE!" Zim yelled, aiming straight for Jack.

"Oh, what are you gonna do? Shoot me?" Jack asked sarcastically. "Go ahead." And Jack kissed Dib again. Dib heard a huge fire sound and jack fell to the floor with a huge wound in his chest.

"ZIM!" Dib yelled, staring at the body at his feet. "Zim! You can't do that!" He turned to Zim who was staring at Dib with confusion. The Doctor rolled his eyes and looked away. Rose was turning red and had her hands over her mouth.

"Ow! That really hurt," Jack said, getting up.

"Jack!" Dib said in surprise, about to pass out from all the drama. "How?" He looked to Zim who was shocked and returned to aiming at Jack.

"Well, the thing? I'm immortal," Jack announced, taking a step towards Zim. "Come here you little green psychopath, it's your turn." Jack opened his arms and stepped towards Zim. Zim panicked and shot Jack again, who just got back up and kept walking. Zim kept shooting and backing away as Jack kept coming towards him.

"Wow…" Dib said in fascination.

"At least we know he really loves you," Rose pointed out, blushing deeply.

"Yeah…I know," Dib said, thinking back on their past week.

"Yup, Zim's the girl," The Doctor said with conviction.

"No way, sorry 'bout this Dib, but Dib's the girl," Rose said pointedly.

"I'm not a girl," Dib said strongly.

Rose blushed. "No no, that's not what I'm sayin' at all," She said hurridly.

"But don't _you_ think Zim's the girl?" The Doctor asked, still watching Jack get shot multiple times.

"Well…uh…" Dib stalled. He didn't think Zim was girly in any way possible. If either of them were girly, it'd be Dib. But he wasn't about to admit that. Suddenly the gun blasts stopped and Dib turned around to see Jack's face nearly eating Zim's. Zim had a look of utter fear, Dib could see a slight bit of content in his expression. Dib couldn't breath for a minute, quickly in his mind he saw Zim and Jack running away together and Dib left alone on an alien planet with no one. But just as soon as the thought reached him, Zim shoved Jack off and ran under the table.

"Hmm, hard to tell," Jack contemplated, licking his mouth. "Irkens taste good…"

"STAY AWAY YOU FLESH EATING CANNIBAL!" Zim yelled from under the table. Rose started to laugh, The Doctor shook his head and Jack was still thinking about something. Dib leaned under the table to see Zim.

"You never called _me_ a flesh eating cannibal," Dib observed. Zim looked at Dib like he was crazy.

"That's because you're _not_," Zim told him. Dib smiled, he might never understand what Zim did, but he had all of forever to figure it out. Dib straightened to see The Doctor on a cell phone.

"And you _believed_ them?" He asked. "Well, don't you remember what I told you? Oh come on, Rickey, you're not that dense…well, maybe you are…no, just…Hey, don't use that language with me!"

"Doctor?" Rose echoed, listening to his ranting. He hung up and turned to her.

"We've got to get to Venus, right now," The Doctor told her.

"Wait, who wins?" She asked.

"Jack?" The Doctor asked irritably, in a rush to go to Venus. Dib wondered if they were having a bet on something.

"Well, based on reactions, I'd have to say Dib," Jack reasoned, patting Dib on the back.

"I win," Rose squealed, "Italy here I come!"

"If there still is an Italy," The Doctor said gruffly. "Sorry, but we have to cut this short." The Doctor took Jack by the arm and dragged him out.

"It was really nice seeing you again," Rose said warm heartedly, "And I think your father'd be proud." Dib smiled at her as she left.

"You're mine…you know?" Zim said as he put his head between Dib's legs and looked up at him. Dib unconsciously toyed with Zim's antenna.

"I know," He said happily, "And I own you too." Zim looked up in a confused manner. "I own you, and you own me. We own each other." Zim grinned.

"I don't understand…but…I know I own you. So if you own me too, that's fine," Zim said, lighting Dib's heart on fire. Zim gripped Dib's legs and leaned his head on Dib, closing his eyes. "Do we _have_ to go back to earth?" He asked quietly.

"What do you mean? We're just here on vacation, Zim," Dib said. Zim moaned.

"Yeah but…I have no ties there. And neither do you, so I don't see why we don't just live on a better planet…" Zim said, for once making sense.

"I…I don't know…" Dib said, looking out the window. "I can't just leave Gaz there…"

"She's the ruler of the planet, Dib. She can handle herself. And she has Gir," Zim pointed out.

"Yeah…" Dib whispered. "But where would we live?"

"Someplace better…a planet like this but bigger," Zim said.

"Yeah," Dib agreed. "But I wanna go back, at least once…"

"Okay," Zim said, starting to fall asleep on Dib. Dib grabbed Zim's hands and lifted him up onto him.

"Come on, space boy," Dib said, ignoring the broken plates, he took Zim to their bed, thankful that they had this peaceful quiet now.

…

…

…

…

That was shorter than intended. :P And I didn't include the Meekrob/war/prophesy junk, but I'll get to it! You have to make due with fluffy for now. Fluffy is a good kitty, even Zim likes fluffy :). Anyway, thanks so much for reading! Sorry it took so long to post, I'm evil that way, and lazy haha. But I digress, the next one will be out a whole bunches sooner, and it will be longer and better! Love you all lots, please review!


	2. Prophesized

Chapter Two: Prophesized

Zim twitched and woke up to see Dib sleeping next to him. He calmed down, none of what he saw was real…just his brain messing with him again. The nightmares were getting worse, but he wouldn't tell Dib, not now. Not when they were on vacation and spending time together. Zim didn't want to ruin the occasion. Maybe when they found their new home…but not now. He looked up at the Dib in question, he was sleeping so soundly.

Zim thought about something he saw in his dreams. Kei…the damned bounty hunter. She said something about the Meekrob prophecy. It was said in their books that a human boy with scythe hair would lead them to victory against the Irkens. It could only be Dib that could be that boy. Zim had been careful about their location, no one in contact with the Meekrob knew of this planet. This was a completely safe place to hide out. It _was_ a vacation, but only in some respects. Zim really didn't want to risk going back to Earth, but Dib was anxious to return at least once, so he would keep Dib as safe as possible.

He got up, careful not to wake Dib, and went to the couch. He flicked the TV on, almost missing how much Gir used to watch it, and flicked to the news channel. Zim was almost asleep again when he noticed something on the news and went to get Dib. "Your sister really _is_ scary…" Zim whispered as Dib stared at the screen.

"She…how can she even _do_ that? I mean, a war with the Irkens, it's insane," Dib uttered.

"She seems to have a good plan though," Zim told him.

"Yeah…but…even if she did team up with the Meekrob, does she really think she can win?" Dib asked, sitting down.

"I think she can…" Zim whispered. It was traitor talk against his people, but he didn't care anymore. He knew Gaz would win, she always did. A lot of people on Earth might die, but Gaz would win. But could the Meekrob win without Dib?

"Well…yeah," Dib agreed. Zim glared at the TV screen. With the Meekrob now utilizing Earth in the team-up, they would surely search for Dib. It was probably the reason they even united with Gaz, was because of the prophesy.

"Dib…I don't think we should go to earth…" Zim mumbled.

"What?" Dib said, shocked. He stood up dramatically. "Of course we have to go, now more than ever! I need to help Gaz," Dib finished, "Let's start back today, we should be able to make it back soon." Dib went off to pack, leaving Zim sitting on the couch dejectedly. If he hadn't chose to watch the news that morning, they wouldn't have to leave. If they weren't leaving, Dib wouldn't be headed towards danger. If Dib was headed towards danger, Zim wasn't sure how well he could protect Dib. So if Dib died by the hands of the Irkens because of the Meekrob…it was really all Zim's fault…just because he watched the news instead of going back to sleep.

…

"Dib…what do you plan on doing when we get there?" Zim asked, pulling his projector back on after a full week of not using it. He watched Dib beside him in the voot cruiser.

"I don't know…we need to find Gaz, first of all," Dib said, setting the course for Earth the way Zim had taught him to.

"She'll probably be surrounded by Meekrob…" Zim mumbled.

"What was that?" Dib asked, turning to Zim. Zim shook his head and looked out the window. They were falling into the Meekrob's trap. The Meekrob were the ones who'd sent the hunters to Earth, they'd set a bounty, and they were responsible for the deaths of many Irkens. Was that even important now? An ache started to form in Zim's head. Dib was being so stupid.

"Your sister is fine without us, Dib," Zim told him, "She's with the Meekrob and she can handle things herself."

"Zim…" Dib said darkly, "Please just stop. I know you don't know what it's like…to have family but…" Dib's voice cracked and he started to shake, "Gaz is my only family now. I have to be with her for this…this war. I can't leave her alone like this…" Zim saw wetness in Dib's eyes as he looked away from Zim coldly. Zim stayed where he was and looked the other way. Dib was right, Zim didn't know…he wouldn't pretend to know. Familial bonds seemed to matter a lot to humans…Zim had to respect that and do his best to protect Dib from Meekrob, and possibly other Irkens.

"Dib…the Meekrob…they have a prophesy about you…" Zim whispered, "You're supposed to win some war for them…" Dib finally looked at Zim, seeming to be angry.

"Then why are you trying to keep me away from them. If they need a leader I'll lead them, especially if it's against the Irken Empire," Dib said strongly. Zim shrank back.

"You can't win against them…you'll get killed…" Zim mumbled.

"No I won't Zim, is this because you're Irken?" Dib asked, getting angrier.

"Dib! The Irken armada is millions strong! Do you really think the tiny amount of humans and weak Meekrob can't stop them?" Zim asked in a burst of volume.

"Yes, we can Zim. Whose side are you on?" Dib asked, raising a brow at Zim.

"I…yours!" Zim said suddenly. Dib's eyes softened as Zim got frustrated with himself. "Dib, I know the Irken Empire…you can't win. The Meekrob…I don't know what they'll do with you once they find you but…it can't be good. They're just as bad as Irkens…"

"You're just saying that because all your life you've hated the Meekrob and every other species out there…" Dib pointed out. Zim sat back and shut his mouth, he'd hated the Meekrob all his life, but was that really why he felt so bad about joining them? "Thanks for the support Zim," Dib mumbled angrily.

The rest of the flight home, Zim tried hard to figure out what was right. He hated the Meekrob, and he hated the Empire now too…Dib wanted to join the Meekrob, so Zim should join them too. But would they just let Zim just waltz right in and help them plan? The Meekrob were smart, smart enough to see through a little holographic projector. What was Zim supposed to do?

…

"I'm bored again…" Purple moaned. They sat in the console of the Massive, waiting to arrive at Earth. Zim said it had taken six months to reach Earth, they hoped he was right and not just miscalculating again.

"Yeah…me too," Red said next to him. "We're already at war…what else is there to do?"

"Torture our favorite subject?" Purple asked excitedly.

Red grinned. "Yeah."

…

Earth looked a lot like Irk now, to Zim anyway. Tons of spaceships, who knew where they came from. Zim recognized them from planets other than Meekrob. But that was Gaz, always surprising. Dib landed and looked around. There was a huge convention center nearby where a sign said a debriefing was taking place, surely Gaz would be there. "Hey, Zim, there it is, let's go," Dib said, starting to take off.

"Actually, I think I'm gonna go get supplies from my base," Zim said in a hurry, taking off in that direction. Dib blinked in surprise but continued to the convention center, he figured Zim wouldn't want to come.

The base was entirely intact. Some things had been stolen, but he figured it was Gir. After he packed a bunch of high tech weapons in a transport, he was about to head back out and find Dib, when a transmission came in. "Hey Zim," Tallest Purple cooed at him.

"My Tallest!" Zim exclaimed, saluting them out of habit and peering up at them. He was suddenly glad he'd taken off his disguise when he came in. "I-I heard we're at war with the humans? Eh…finally!" Zim stared at them awkwardly, hoping it didn't show.

"Yeah, yeah," Tallest Red waved off. "We have a very special mission for you."

"R-really? What is it?" Zim asked, actually getting excited. The Tallest grinned.

"We understand that there a Meekrob on Earth, we want you to assassinate their leader," Red ordered.

"W-what?" Zim asked hollowly. He would be caught before he could get near their leader. They would all see through him and capture him. How could his leaders order him to do this?

"You heard us," Purple teased. "Or are you a traitor?"

"No, sir!" Zim barked. They grinned even more.

"Good, now go get that Meekrob," Red said encouragingly. The transmission ended.

…

Red and Purple sat in their console laughing. "I can't believe it, I think he's really gonna do it!" Purple yelled.

"No way, Zim's not that stupid!" Red defended. A moment of silence, and they started bursting out laughing again. "Yes he is!" Red exclaimed happily.

…

Zim stared at the screen where his Tallest had been. How could they order him to do such a thing, why would they do that? And how would Dib react to this, what would he think of Zim? Zim couldn't do this, he couldn't betray Dib by attempting this. But he couldn't disobey the Tallest either, this was his chance to prove his loyalty and gain their trust once and for all. But was their trust really something Zim wanted? He held his head in his hands, why did this have to be so confusing. He had to find Dib, he had to find him and confess this to him.

He pulled on an antenna, where was Dib? Convention hall, right? Zim switched his projector back on in a hurry and rushed out to find Dib. The convention was huge, tons of humans all over the place. Zim rushed passed them, searching for the scythe hair he knew so well. He saw a few of the floating fish-like creatures that were the Meekrob. But he ignored them, but they didn't ignore him.

Zim suddenly saw humans staring at him as well. He recognized people he'd known for years staring at him in a way he hadn't seen before. He let himself listen to what was being said and shuddered. Apparently today they were discussing how Irkens disguised themselves and how to find an Irken in hiding. He noticed Gretchen and Zita and even Keef glaring at him with hatred. Panic ran through his mind and before he could reach him self-destruct button, a hand snatched his wrist behind his back and kept his hands apart.

Through the struggling, yelling, fighting, and glaring…Zim didn't catch a single glimpse of Dib anywhere.

…

"Gaz…I'm so glad to see you…" Dib said with relief. Dib stood before what looked like a metallic throne with cords and technology hooked up to it.

"Yeah? You should have stayed away, idiot," Gaz said rudely.

"But Gaz…you're my sister, I have to be here…" Dib said in defense. Gaz glared at him.

"You don't really know what the prophecy is about…do you?" Gaz asked with bored eyes.

"N-no…" Dib said, wondering how she knew about the prophecy.

Gaz sighed and pushed some buttons. "Do you love that moronic alien boy?" Gaz asked in a change of subject.

"Zim? Yeah…" Dib murmured, watching a screen drop down from the ceiling.

"Well, you should have listened to him," Gaz hissed, pushing a final button and turning toward the screen. Dib turned too, watching patiently. A dark room appeared, it looked like a prison cell, in the center, tied in chains was…no…it couldn't be.

"That's…that's…" Dib couldn't bear to say it. Zim had his eyes closed as he kneeled under the weight of the metal chains. The Meekrob hadn't bothered to take Zim's projector.

"Yup," Gaz confirmed, "I don't need you Dib, I have the whole world here behind me. And I have the Meekrob, along with several other planets now. Stop thinking I can't do this…because I'm not alone." Dib stared at the screen darkly. Zim didn't want to come to Earth at all, he wanted to save himself from the Meekrob and fly to another planet.

"He's so selfish…" Dib whispered. Gaz glared down at him. "He wanted to move somewhere else instead of letting me help you…he just wanted to save himself…"

"God you're stupid…" Gaz sighed. "I don't need your help…" She leaned her head on her fist and watched Dib from her perch.

"What about the Meekrob then? They have a prophecy about me, that I'm going to win a war for them! I can't let them down, I have to lead them!" Dib pleaded to Gaz.

Gaz looked frustrated. "That dumb alien didn't bother to tell you…now _I_ have to! The Meekrob don't want you to lead them, Dib!" Gaz yelled, "They want to sacrifice you to their Gods for luck!"

Dib stared at her in horror. "What…?"

"Yeah you idiot. Zim wasn't keeping you from leading, he was keeping you from dying! The idiot probably didn't think of himself, he was thinking about you…not that I care…" Gaz said, adding the last part quickly. She grinned. "You'd better run before I tell the Meekrob you're here…they'd give me quite a lot of money…"

Dib ran, he didn't know where he was running, but away. He had to get far away from Gaz and her evil. She was so malicious. Dib saw it now, Zim wasn't being selfish, he was caring for Dib. And Dib accused him of not understanding…made Zim feel guilty. Now Zim was in a prison cell because of Dib…Zim was doomed yet again because of something stupid Dib did.

The street Dib was running down was abandoned. All the houses were dark, no one lived in them anymore. They were all mindless slaves to Gaz…and knowing her, they probably loved serving her. All of a sudden a ship landed right in front of him. He hadn't been paying attention and was surprised when a familiar voice called down to him. "We know who you are, we want to help. Get in the ship," Rin called to him. She grabbed Dib's hand as he blindly climbed in the ship, momentarily forgetting that Rin was bad.

…

The walls of the cell were dark and reminded Zim of harder times. He just shut his eyes and knelt, and tried to think of better things. When the Meekrob began their plans for him…he would need those nice thoughts just for him to last. He heard a clink of metal and opened his eyes again. A door on the other side was opened. He peered at it, trying to see who opened it. "Hey…Zim…" The maniacal voice said.

"Hey…Mau…" Zim said, grinning. The insane little Irken came over to Zim and started to undo the chains. He wasn't wearing his disguise anymore and Zim could see his dark green skin and bright red eyes. He had all of the common characteristics of an average Irken, but Zim knew he wasn't average at all.

"The birds…the birds are swimming…" Mau mumbled with insane joy and malice. Zim always loved Mau's insane, yet innocent nature. It reminded him of Gir. Mau could say things that made no sense, but he always helped in the end. Like now, he was helping Zim escape.

"They are swimming, Mau, they are," Zim encouraged. They finished and Zim followed Mau out the door and down the hall. He remembered Mau from Invader training, before Mau went insane. Zim didn't know what caused Mau to be like he was, but it must have been bad. Zim hoped all those things were blocked from Mau's mind…it was one thing to lose your mind, it was another to be trapped in memories with no mind to escape.

Finally they reached an escape pod that led somewhere else. They both got inside and Mau started up the small vessel. Zim worried for a minute that Mau wouldn't be able to work a ship, but it was just a small escape vessel. The thing probably only had two coordinate settings. Zim relaxed a bit and watched Mau setting up the system. "Two birds…one stone…" Mau whispered.

"Hmm?" Zim knew nothing Mau said made much sense, but there was always some sort of point to them. He wondered what this point was. The machine fired up and they started to go up into space. Zim watched the world below disappear as blackness overcame them. Zim wondered how long they would be in the escape pod…hopefully not long. If Mau was as bad as Gir, it could be a long trip.

After a while, Zim saw another ship, it was bigger than the voot cruiser, but no where near the size of the massive. It must be where they were headed towards. "Mau…where are we headed?" Zim asked unconsciously, not expecting an answer. Mau responded by taking the controls, shutting off the autopilot, and increasing speed. "Mau…Mau don't do that," Zim warned. He tried to take the controls, but Mau shoved him off, laughing crazily.

They spiraled towards the ship at an alarming speed. Zim gave up and ducked below the control panels, trying to find the safest place in the tiny vessel. He heard the crunching of glass and electric crackle of the controls and engine being smashed. And he heard Mau's demented laughter. All of a sudden, his view cut to black, and the cries of victory from the insane one ceased.

…

"What the hell was that?" Dib asked, feeling a lurch in the ship and hearing metal grating against metal. Inx looked at the monitors to her right, her glassy gray eyes reflecting the screen.

"Mau's back…and something tells me Zim let him drive," Inx said darkly. Dib took off running towards the loading bay where Zim would be. He wanted to make sure Zim was alright, he wanted to make sure Zim knew how sorry he was.

Someone stopped him just before the loading bay doors though. "Hey kid…where you going?" Lloyd asked, blocking the door. Lloyd was the captain of the ship. He wore black pants made of some kind of material foreign to Earth, and a red button-up shirt. He kept a white scarf wrapped around his neck at all times that matched his white gloves and boots. He had pitch black hair that looked scruffy and worn from battles. His expression, something between angry and bored, like Gaz. And it never changed, it was like he hated the world but put up with it anyway.

"Someone landed, I'm going to see them…" Dib said, he disliked this man…this man standing in his way. Zim was the only person he'd ever disliked instantly, but this man was an exception. He just seemed evil to Dib. He squinted at Dib.

"Just remember…_we're_ protecting _you_, so don't go thinking you can just waltz around like you own the place," Lloyd said before moving aside. Dib called him tons of things in his head and rushed into the loading bay. What he saw shocked him.

It looked remotely like a ship, but it was crushed and deformed. Dib could see Mau struggling to get out, he looked uninjured. "H-hey, where is Zim?" Dib asked shakily. Mau looked at him as if just noticing him.

"Submarine…birds can't swim…birds win…" Mau said disjointedly. Dib stared into the mess of a ship and started digging through the rubble, dislodging Mau in the process. Dib panicked.

"He has to be here, he has to be here somewhere…" Dib breathed crazily. He lifted one big part of the ship that hadn't crumbled and saw him. He was lying with his back leaned against what used to be the consol. His projector was flickering back and forth between human and Irken. Zim was passed out and there was blood on his temple. "Zim!" Dib yelled. He tossed the piece of ship over and held Zim in his arms, ushering him to life.

Zim was alive, yes, his pak proved that. But he was completely limp and wouldn't wake up. Dib switch the projector off, keeping Zim in his Irken form. The slick green blood on his head was scaring Dib. He held Zim close and tried not to panic more than he was. He kept telling himself Zim would be okay, over and over again. Even as the others came to see what was going on, he kept reciting his mantra in his head. Even as they helped carry Zim to the med bay, he kept lying to himself.

"Dib…" Rin called to him. "Come with me." Dib turned around to see the Irken in her disguise, her white bow glistening against the bright lights of the med bay. Dib followed her, not sure why he was taking her orders rather than staying with Zim. He figured Rin had something important to say and trusted her. Maybe she would help Zim.

They finally reached a dark room filled with computers. Rin went to one of them and sat in front of it as if to start doing something, but she just sat there and stared at the blue, glowing monitor. "I have a secret I want to tell you," Rin said in that emotionless tone of hers.

"O-okay…" Dib said, sitting down. He watched her, she almost seemed to glare at the screen.

"I'm not what you think I am," Rin said mysteriously. Dib wondered what she meant when he saw her holograph projector in her hand. She clicked a switch on it and set it on the table. Dib stared at it, not sure what she meant by the action. But it slowly sunk in, she'd switched the projector _off_. It was turned off and sitting on the table before her. Yet she still looked human.

"H-How?" Dib asked. "Are you…human?"

"No…I'm not human nor Irken…" Rin said sadly. "I'm…I'm an android…"

"Really?" Dib asked in surprise.

"Yes. I'm an android designed by a human many years ago…I was stolen twenty years ago and brought to Irk. I joined the resistance a few years ago," Rin said, looking at the screen still.

"…wow…" Was all Dib could say. Rin was a robot, like Gir…. He remembered the first conversation he had with Rin. "Do you really have an emotion blocker?"

"No…but Kei did have an emotion chip she was going to implant in my circuits…" Rin said sadly.

"…Oh…" Dib whispered. He thought about the past events. "Wait…I thought you were a bounty hunter!"

"I wasn't…Neither was Kei…none of us knew that she turned against our pacts. She recognized you from bounty posters and I suppose her old habits overcame her…" Rin told him.

"So she really was good again…but she went back to bounty hunting at the last minute…" Dib reasoned.

"Yes…" Rin confirmed. They sat in silence for a minute as Dib thought about all of that.

"If you're an android…what are your functions?" Dib asked curiously.

Rin smiled. "I'm a singing unit…I can perform other functions…and haven't preformed my vocal functionalities in many years, but that was my original design purpose…" Rin told him.

"A…singing unit…" Dib echoed. That was weird for an android. But not every piece of machinery had to be a weapon, right? "That's cool…"

…

"Do you think Zim's dead?" Purple asked in a bored tone.

"Probably…" Red responded.

"Kinda sad…we can't mess with him if he's dead…" Purple said, a little disappointed. Red shrugged.

"We'll find someone else…" Red comforted.

"Yeah…but Zim was so…fun!" Purple exclaimed.

"Well…there is Earth to destroy," Red suggested. Purple grinned.

"Yeah!" Purple agreed.

…

"I think he'll wake up soon enough…" Rin told Dib, attempting to comfort him.

"Yeah…" Dib agreed.

"There wasn't much damage done to his body, I think he's fine," Rin said.

"No offense Rin, but you're a singer, not a doctor…" Dib said quietly. Rin shrugged and sat down. Dib left to use the bathroom, leaving Rin alone in the room with Zim.

As Dib left, Rin picked up a glass of water. It was Earth water, she thought they'd done well to get water from their planet. She slowly poured it into Zim's mouth, trying to revive him by keeping away dehydration.

…

Dib heard yelling and ran back into Zim's room. Zim was leaning over the bed retching and shuddering. Rin was holding a glass and watching with what looked like fear in her eyes. Dib went to Zim, ignoring Rin. "Zim, Zim are you okay?" Dib asked frantically. Zim leaned into Dib and shivered. Dib noticed the subtle streams of smoke coming from Zim's mouth. He remembered the glass in Rin's hand.

"Rin…what did you do?" Dib asked, trying to be calm.

"I…gave him water…" Rin said innocently.

"Earth water?" Dib asked. Rin nodded. "Get. Out," Dib ordered. Rin left quickly, obeying Dib. Dib held Zim tighter when he saw the flecks of dark green blood on the floor. "You'll be okay…" Dib whispered, rubbing Zim's back and easing Zim to laying down. Zim shuddered at the movement, but Dib held him and made the shuddering change to just light shivering. "You're okay…" Dib whispered again. At least Zim was conscious. He buried himself in Dib's shirt, clinging to it.

Rin didn't know what she was doing when she gave Zim poison, and Dib knew that. She was just trying to help. Dib would have to explain Irken things to her later. Zim didn't seem to blame her either, and he seemed to be coming back from the poison all right. A button on his pak was flashing; Dib supposed that meant the pak was healing him. Sending out nanobots to heal the flesh affected by the acid. "Zim…I'm sorry…" Dib said, apologizing for more than one thing. "I'm sorry I didn't trust you and…Gaz, she…well…" Dib stopped trying to explain himself, he knew Zim wouldn't care.

Zim looked up at Dib and grinned. "Sex now?" He asked in a wheeze.

…

…

…

…

He he. I love Zim. I love Rin too so don't kill her!

I don't remember if I mentioned it or not, but anyone know what Rin is based on? Vocaloid! I would have used Kaito, but I was watching a lot of Rin videos. I'm sooo addicted to Vocaloid right now, I love the song Dark Woods Circus! Oh, and "Wide Knowledge Of The Late, Madness,"!

Eeeee! I love all of you! Do I say that too much? Too bad, cuz you guys are awesome! Thank you so much so the support of reviews and favorites and alerts! I feel so loved. 3


	3. Game

Chapter Three: Game

Zim explored the ship further. He had healed completely now and already forgave Rin, and now he was bored. He wanted to take Dib and go to some other planet, but the scary captain…Lloyd or something, wouldn't let them leave. "Hello," A small voice greeted from behind.

Zim turned to see Inx, the little Irken smeet. She was staring up and Zim with the glassy wondrous eyes of a young one yearning for information about the world. "Hello smeet," Zim said back, unsure what the child wanted. Inx didn't seem to know either, so they stood awkwardly.

"Rin is sorry…about what happened," Inx said innocently.

Zim smiled at her. "Yes, she told me."

"Oh…" Inx looked around. "Rin is a robot you know…"

"Yeah, Dib told me that," Zim informed her. She blushed a dark green, her blue gray eyes looking around awkwardly.

"Ya wanna see the observation deck?" Inx suggested as though it were her favorite place to be.

"Sure…" Zim said with a shrug, he was bored anyway without anyplace to be. Maybe this smeet could give him entertainment. When they reached it, Inx looked at the huge dome above them proudly. Half of it was something that looked like concrete, the other half of the dome was clear and see-through. Zim could see tons of stars and planet systems he knew from here. It was something he'd seen dozens of times before, but the smeet took a huge fascination in it.

"It's beautiful…" Inx whispered in awe. Zim looked out at the gaping expanse of space. It was empty to him, just a wasteland soon to be ruled by the Irkens. Was he still thinking that way? Apparently. Maybe Gaz would be able to bring the Irkens down.

Zim winced as an unwanted image from his dream last night invaded his head. A terrible, dark, tentacle creature reaching out in the darkness, towards him. Always nearly touching him. Zim was just small enough to escape the tentacles by crowding himself in the corner.

"Zim?" The smeet peeped, interrupting Zim's thoughts. He tilted his head to stare at the child and raised an antenna questioningly. "Um…is Dib…your forevermate?" Inx asked, peering up at Zim.

Zim's face flushed as he looked back out at the stars. "Yes, smeet," he answered simply.

Just as quickly as she had come to that subject, she switched completely. "Wanna play a game?" She asked in excitement. Zim looked down at her wide, innocent eyes. Their blue hint reminded him of Gir, and how Gir was constantly annoying him…in the past anyway.

"Sure…" Zim sighed. Inx clapped in excitement.

"Okay, come on!" She yelled, taking Zim's hand and running off. Zim kept up with her, wondering what sort of game the little girl would want to play.

…

Dib wondered where Zim had gone, it had been a few days since the he'd gotten there and Zim was already hating this place. Dib thought it was fascinating, although he did worry that Zim might cause trouble, tending to cause destruction and mayhem when bored. He went out to find Zim. It didn't take long, he just had to follow the sounds of yelling.

"You stupid smeet, come out here now!" Zim yelled, staring at a huge wall made entirely of wires and electrical boxes.

"Hey, Zim, watcha doing?" Dib asked nonchalantly.

"The smeet wanted to play a game…now she's somewhere in there and won't come out," Zim said angrily, pointing to the wall.

"What were you playing? Hide and seek?" Dib asked with a laugh.

"No…something she called…tag," Zim answered, glaring at the wires.

"Inx…why are you in there if you're playing tag?" Dib asked, calling to the pile.

"So Zim can't tag me!" Inx yelled back. Because of the acoustics, they couldn't tell where she was from her voice.

"Uh…you know it's dangerous in there right?" Dib asked, hoping Inx didn't get hurt playing with wires.

"I'm not an idiot, Dib. I'm older than you even," Inx called back.

"She's right you know," Zim said snidely, trying not to laugh.

"Whatever," Dib said, looking at the pile and wondering if Inx would ever come out. "Inx! I'll…I don't know, give you candy if you come out!" Dib yelled.

"Yay!" Inx screamed and ran out from where she was hiding. She jumped up into Dib's arms and asked where the candy was.

"Um…" Dib said awkwardly. "I don't…have any…" Inx pouted.

"Tag…you're it," Zim said, grinning as he poked Inx in the back. Inx pouted even more and refused to walk, making Dib carry her. He didn't mind much because she was pretty light. They walked down the hall without any destination. Zim glared at the wall and Inx chatted excitedly about something or other that happened that day.

"How old are you Inx?" Dib asked at an interval between her ramblings.

"Eight in Irk years!" She squealed.

"Really?" Dib wondered how many Earth years that was. "How old are _you _in Irk years, Zim?" Dib asked, curious what age he really was. He knew he was ancient in Earth years, but was he an adult on Irk?

"Huh?" Zim looked over at them distractedly. "Oh, eighteen in Irk years." Dib stared at him in fascination. He was the same as Dib, yet again. But…Dib thought about the things he'd heard, about Zim being in wars and the scars Dib always ignored. Zim must have been at least a couple Irk years younger when he came to Earth. His leaders really were cruel, to put someone through all so early on in life.

"Zim…what's it like…to be a soldier?" Dib asked. He almost became one, wanting to join Gaz in her war, but he didn't. He wondered how Zim felt about it all. Zim just shrugged, looking at the wall, lost in thought. Inx watched Zim too, she seemed curious too. "Come on, tell us, did you enjoy it?"

Zim winced and looked at the floor in discomfort. "Somewhat." He remembered being completely ignorant and loving the thrill of the fight. He had loved everything he did, he watched people's faces flood with fear and pain. He crushed homes and destroyed lives with his fellow Irkens. But now that he was living with Dib…those memories, they seemed so dark. He didn't enjoy them anymore. Something changed inside of him. Somehow…he was the Zim he used to be.

Dib was watching Zim with concern when Rin came up to him. "Dib, Zim. There's a situation, we need you guys…right now!" Rin said breathlessly, leading them to a conference room. Lloyd and Rin stood before a huge screen. Dib and Zim joined them, putting Inx outside the room for the time being.

An image appeared on the screen, taking Dib's breath away at the sight. "Hello idiots," Gaz greeted them.

"Gaz?" Dib said hollowly, he remembered Gaz's last cold words to him, warning him to run before she called the Meekrob on him. "What do you want?" He asked coldly, anger edging his voice.

"Pf, touchy much?" She said, acting like Dibs words hurt her, they all knew they didn't. "Anyway, I'm just calling to say I want a truce with you little pioneers…"

"What?" Lloyd asked.

"Yes, I know. I have the Meekrob, I have many, many planets under my control, so why would I want you in a truce as well? Well, to be frank, Gir won't leave me alone about it…so I'll be dropping by your little hidden ship to draw up the peace treaty…Gir's coming too. And don't worry, no one else will know about this but us," Gaz said, completely emotionless. She cut the feed and they all stared at the screen blankly.

"She's…coming here?" Dib said quietly, breaking the silence.

"Well…a truce…doesn't seem to bad," Rin said positively. "We know she won't attack us."

Zim sensed Dib's building anger and said nothing, positive or negative, he wasn't going to push himself into Dib's familial matters again. "Even though her approach was terrible…I don't blame her, if she wanted to blow us up, she probably could," Lloyd said, "I'm glad she's making peace with us instead. I hereby accept the passing of this treaty for the good of this organization." Lloyd walked out of the room with his head held high.

Dib thought his weird little speech was stupid, they all knew Gaz would force this on him whether he accepted it or not. But everyone had their pride, Dib looked over at Zim, who hadn't said a word. Zim was being oddly quiet today, Dib wondered what was up.

Rin went back to her duties, taking Inx with her and Dib went back to his room to finish work he had. Zim followed Dib, not having anything to do. Dib sat at his desk, writing, while Zim sat on the floor and stared a wall for a while. Dib picked up a pen to write a signature when Zim suddenly turned toward Dib. "How could you!" Zim yelled. He came forward and snatched the pen away from Dib, snapping it several times until it was completely unusable in any way possible.

"Zim…it's…just a pen," Dib said awkwardly. Zim glared at him and went back to staring at the wall. "O…kay…" Dib whispered, continuing his work. There were some things about Zim he would never understand. He checked his watch, there was still some time before Gaz was supposed to get there.

Dib stared at the wall in front of him, like Zim. Would his father really be proud of how things were going now? Gaz and Dib were getting along…and Dib and Zim were getting along. He wondered what his father would say to him just now. Dib started to think of all the things he would miss out on now that he was dead. He wouldn't get to see Dib's career begin, he wouldn't get to prompt Dib into 'real science' anymore, he wouldn't get to be at Dib's wedding….did Dib just think that?

Dib glanced back at Zim, who was really intense in his wall-staring thing. Did Irkens even have something like marriage? Dib nearly smacked himself in the head, what a stupid thing to think about when a peace treaty is about to be made. He tried to concentrate on work, but that seemed impossible. Soon he just began to stare at the wall again, not thinking about anything at all. Dib felt something tugging at his pants. He looked down at the Irken at his side, pouting and looking adorable as hell.

"I'm bored…" Zim whined, tugging more on the waist of Dib's pants eagerly.

"So you think I'll just let you in my pants because you're bored?" Dib asked in a serious tone. Zim pouted and backed off slowly. Dib kept his face neutral, but on the inside he was squealing at how cute Zim was when he pouted that way. "Maybe if you say the magic word…I'll let you gain entrance," Dib lied, he was going to let Zim in no matter what, but it was fun to tease.

"Magic word…?" Zim echoed. "Is there such a word?"

"It's not magic exactly, but it's an important word…" Dib teased, not giving it away.

"Um," Zim thought about that. He grinned and reached for Dib's pants again. "Now!"

"Nope," Dib said flatly, struggling not to giggle at Zim's disappointed glare.

"What is it?" Zim asked in frustration.

"Say you love me," Dib commanded. Zim grinned.

"I want you Dib…" Zim whispered maniacally.

"That's not what I want to hear," Dib whispered back. Zim frowned, not wanting to give in to someone else's wants. Dib got an idea and led Zim to the bed, feeling him up as they went. Zim was getting excited, thinking he had won their little game. He pushed Zim back on the soft mattress and kissed him deeply. Zim melted in his arms. Zim closed his eyes and enjoyed Dib just being there for the moment, breathing in his essence. Before Zim even opened his eyes again, Dib had handcuffs restraining Zim's wrists to the bedposts.

"Hey!" Zim yelled angrily. Dib put both hands on Zim's chest, smiling as he did so. He straddled Zim's waist and kept him from moving.

"Tell me what I want to hear," Dib said in a low whisper. Zim grinned. Their fight for dominance had begun, Dib had the upper hand, but Zim was unbeatable.

"I love you…Dib…" Zim whispered, he was slightly giving in, but the fight wasn't over yet, he knew there were going to be more demands. Dib sighed and laid his head on Zim's chest, hugging Zim hard. Zim shuddered with arousal. Dib listened to Zim's quickening heartbeat,

"Tell me you'll never leave me…" Dib sighed, needing reassurance.

"I won't," Zim promised, giving Dib that comfort.

"You won't?" Dib asked, looking up into Zim's crimson eyes. Zim was smiling and watching Dib carefully.

"Of course not," Zim breathed.

"Good, you'd better not," Dib warned him. Zim grinned and moved his head closer to Dib's. "You belong to me…no one else can have you…" Dib whispered protectively.

"Yes…and you belong to me as well, remember that," Zim told him. The words sounded harsh, but to Dib they were romantic as hell. "If anyone touches you…I'll kill them," Zim hissed, to make his point clear. Dib finally let out his giggle that he'd been holding in since the very start, surprising Zim a little.

"I know you will," Dib said strongly, sitting up and staring Zim straight in the eyes. He leaned forward and kissed Zim deeply, forgetting and letting his tongue slip into Zim's mouth. He heard a slight hissing sound as his saliva burned Zim, but Zim didn't struggle, only kiss Dib harder back.

"Dib…" Zim moaned, moving his arms. "Untie me…" He begged quietly.

"Not yet," Dib whispered, enjoying the satisfaction of having Zim handcuffed to a bed and all to himself. He thought of undoing Zim's pants to reveal a part of Zim Dib had very much fun playing with. Dib's hands drifted down Zim's front, causing Zim to shiver in excitement. Dib reached Zim's waist and undid the top button, Zim was nearly shaking and panting in desire. Dib could feel Zim's arousal, and his own, but he remained slow going and determined. Zim pulled on the handcuffs.

"Diiiiiib…." Zim moaned out of irritation.

"You need me?" Dib taunted.

"Yeeeess," Zim answered. Dib tightened his leg's grip on Zim's body and grabbed something sharp, slowly and steadily ripping Zim's shirt off, leaving his pants alone for the moment. Zim glared at him impatiently.

"Well, you said you were bored, I wanna make the moment last," Dib said, making up an excuse. Really, he just liked seeing Zim squirm in desperation, begging for release. And he didn't mean the release of his wrists either.

Dib finished with the shirt and laid across Zim, putting his mouth right up to Zim's antennae. "You really want this, don't you?" Dib asked, both of them knowing the answer already.

"If you don't hurry up, Dib…I'll…I'll…" Zim panted threateningly.

"You'll what, Zim?" Dib asked cruelly.

"I'll…" Zim trailed off, unable to think of anything, "Well _you_ have be naked too!"

"I do?" Dib asked in surprise.

"Yes," Zim said in a demanding manner. Dib laughed.

"Okay," Dib agreed. He slipped his shirt off slowly, teasing Zim with everything thread he removed. Zim watched with hungry, lustful eyes. Dib could tell he was trying to be patient, but it was getting thin, Zim was starting to squirm. "You ready, space boy," Dib asked.

"Yes!" Zim cried out desperately. "Stupid Earth-rat! Get it on with already!" Normally Dib would have been pissed at the insult, but he just smiled and returned to Zim's pants.

"You guys are just sick," Someone said from the doorway. Both boys looked over in surprise, there stood Gaz, looking down on them with disgust in her eyes. "You know there are children on this ship? And besides that, think of Gir, if he walked in on this, my god…"

"Gaz…you're…you're here," Dib noted.

"Uh huh," Gaz said as if he were stupid. "You know, I would have thought it'd be the other way around…" Gaz said, contemplating their position.

Dib covered himself up, blushing. Zim, of course, had no idea what Gaz meant and just continued to struggle against his bonds. Dib untied him and got dressed. Zim looked around for another shirt and failed to find one.

"Zim, we're going to the conference room to set up the truce, are you coming?" Dib said at the door. Zim was running around the room.

Finally Zim shrugged and followed them out without a shirt, he didn't care as long as no one else did. If someone didn't like it, well, they'd have to answer to him! Zim faintly wondered if Gir had come along, he sort of missed the little insane robot.

When they entered the conference room, everyone stared at Gaz and whispered. Zim got some stray curious stares as well, but he just flipped them off, not having the energy to yell at the moment. He was so close to winning over Dib…and then the she-beast had to interrupt. It was sort of Zim's fault for asking that of Dib when they knew Gaz was coming. But Zim still blamed Gaz…she was just pure evil. The meeting began and Zim let his eyes wander, staring at the ceiling, thinking about how it was colder without a shirt on.

They all sat in strange leather chairs around a big oval table. Zim wondered why it was so big, but forgot when he got distracted by the shiny centerpiece. It was metal and curved in tons of confusing turns and twists.

Gaz said something in a boomy voice, some people shrank back. Zim didn't know what was being said, but he laughed to himself at the stupid people, they should know better than to argue with Gaz. Zim's eyes trailed onto Dib, who was paying too much attention to Gaz to see Zim staring. His vision focused on a fascinating bulge in Dib's pants that still hadn't gone away since their little 'fight'. Zim would have to use that to his advantage later.

"Zim!" Gaz snapped. Zim looked up at her in surprise. "Quit being horny and pay attention!" Zim saluted her and watched Dib blush at Zim angrily. They both knew Dib was still horny too.

Gaz made a huge speech about secret agents and transmissions and something else too, but Zim didn't really listen. He wasn't interesting in what Gaz had planned. He wasn't part of the Irkens anymore, and he wasn't part of the humans. As far as Zim was concerned or cared, he was neutral. There was one thing that caught Zim's attention though. "…The Meekrob are actually really boring, and no one ever sees me in person on Earth anyway, so I think I'll be staying here on this ship with you all," Gaz announced.

Several people were shocked and most were just plain afraid…Dib appeared to be both. Zim didn't care, as long as Gaz didn't interrupt them again. A couple of people protested, but Lloyd shut them up. "Gaz…I…I'm glad you're going to stay here," Dib said finally, looking more angry than glad.

"I don't care what all of you think of my staying here," Gaz said, "As long as you stay out of my way."

"Yes, and I don't care that you stay here…just don't walk in on us and drag us off somewhere again," Zim said harshly, causing tons of people to turn red and eye Dib suspiciously. Gaz seemed pissed at Zim's demand, but she didn't say anything. Zim hooked a hand in Dib's pants and got up. "We'll be going now," Zim announced, forcing Dib up and away with him.

"Wait, alien! Where are you taking that human?" Someone yelled out. Zim scoffed at their idiotic mind.

"I'm going to ravish him, of course. Duh," Zim said just as they walked out the door. They started to walk away down the hall, back to their room.

"Zim…that was…blunt," Dib complained, snatching Zim's hand out of his pants and holding it in his own hand.

"But they got the point," Zim said, grinning.

"Why do you love torturing people?" Dib asked in a sigh.

"It's fun," Zim answered, getting worked up. He always got so playful when he wanted something.

"Well…I don't think freaking out people is a good idea," Dib told him.

"What? I didn't lie, I only said the truth. If they can't handle that, then I don't really care," Zim huffed. Dib smiled, he liked Zim carelessness.

"What if I care…?" Dib asked.

"Um…" Zim paused, thinking about that. Dib actually didn't care, but he was curious what Zim would do. He shrugged and looked at Dib pleadingly.

"Heh heh, I don't care about those people," Dib assured him. Zim relaxed and walked closer to Dib. "Zim…have you ever thought about…marriage?" Dib asked uncomfortably.

"Marriage? What's that?" Zim asked innocently looking up at Dib.

"Are you serious? All those years on Earth and you don't know?" Dib asked in surprise.

"Well, it's not like there were examples of it or anything," Zim said, pouting.

Dib thought about that. Most of the adults where they had lived really never showed a good example of marriage. Dib's father wasn't married, he assumed their teacher, Ms. Bitters, wasn't married. And the adults seemed…rather stupid. "Alright, well, you got me there," Dib admitted, Zim stopped pouting and looked up at him, waiting for an explanation. "Okay…marriage is when two people…two people who love each other…perform a sacred ceremony…" Dib struggled to explain.

"Like sex?" Zim asked. Dib coughed and remembered that he'd explained sex as a ritual of love too.

"No, this is more…official. I don't know…" Dib stopped and really put thought into it. "Okay, see. Sex is just between us, you know?" Zim nodded. "And this marriage is when a bunch of people you know all gather around…right?"

"And we all have sex?" Zim asked.

Dib nearly fell to the floor. "N-no, Zim…no…this has nothing to do with sex," Dib said, trying to make it clear. "Now, the people all gather…right? And so, then there's a priest."

"What kind of priest?" Zim asked.

"I-I don't know, like the leader of a religion…I don't really have a religion…" Dib sighed.

"Me neither…" Zim mumbled.

"Okay…forget about the priest. But there's someone there, someone who recites some words, the bride and groom say 'I do' and they're married," Dib finished quickly.

"Bride and groom?" Zim asked.

"The woman is the bride, and the groom is the man," Dib explained.

"But Dib…we're both men…" Zim pointed out confusedly.

"Yeah…yeah I know that, Zim," Dib said. Explaining these things was so hard.

"So…what kind of words are said?" Zim asked sheepishly, playing with Dib's pants again. Dib shooed Zim's hand away.

"I don't know…words of love. Like…the two people promise to never leave each other, and they vow to always protect each other," Dib said nonchalantly, "It's a pretty big deal on Earth."

"But I…I already promised those things…" Zim said quietly.

"Yup," Dib confirmed.

"So what is marriage for?" He asked.

"I um…I…" Dib searched far into his brain for the answer. "I don't really know…to make it official…I guess…"

"Official to who?" Zim asked.

"I don't know, Zim," Dib sighed in irritation.

"Is this…marriage…important to Dib?" Zim whispered, holding Dib's hand tighter.

"Er…I…" Dib looked at Zim's curious face. "I don't know if it is or not…" Dib admitted truthfully. Zim leaned on Dib, suddenly out of questions. They finally reached their room.

…

Dib sighed and nuzzled Zim's neck. It was late now and Dib had been sleeping, but Zim's stiffness had woken him. He looked up to see Zim staring at the ceiling with a serious face. He looked like he'd been thinking deeply about something. Dib clawed at Zim's chest. "Zim…go to sleep…" He said quietly. Zim closed his eyes and looked pained.

"I don't want to sleep…" Zim whispered.

"Why?"

"Because, when I'm asleep…you're not there…" Zim told him. Dib watched Zim's expressions carefully.

"Where do you go when you sleep?"

"…" Zim stared at the ceiling again.

"Zim…?" Dib prodded.

"My memories…come back when I sleep," Zim confessed. Nightmares…Dib shivered, wondering how long Zim had been having them.

"Your memories?" Dib echoed. Zim drew closer to Dib, seeking comfort.

"And you're not there…" Zim said hollowly.

"…which memories?" Dib asked patiently.

"…All of them…" Zim answered.

"Of wars?" Dib guessed.

"Yes…"

"And bad things?"

"Very bad things…"

"Go to sleep…" Dib commanded. Zim looked at him in confusion. "I'll be there to protect you, Zim…go to sleep…" Zim curled into Dib, trying to relax. Dib sighed and melted into Zim, hoping their closeness would chase away Zim's dreams.

…

…

…

…

He he. I feel so naughty for that almost-a-lemon. I've been reading the manga Loveless, so it's all Soubi's fault, I blame him, he corrupted my mind! Corruption tickles. :)

The next chapter will be so much better! And sooner, bleh. I'm so lazy lately, back to school in just a week! I'm dreading it…but oh well. Enjoy this little chapter for the time being! They'll start getting longer I promise!

Review and I'll love you forever! Don't and I'll feed you to Soubi, he likes little boys, he he. Just kidding, he does, but I won't feed anyone to him! Anyway, Thanks for reading! I'll update soon!


	4. Epic

Chapter Four: Epic

Zim woke up to a shrill screaming next to his head. He shot up and looked around with bleary eyes. "Master!" Gir yelled, jumping into Zim's lap.

"H-hello Gir," Zim said, smiling slightly as Gir grinned at him stupidly. At least Gir was back now. No matter how evil Gaz was, Gir was cute and innocent. Dib groaned and sat up.

"Puppy-head!" Gir screeched. Dib winced at Gir's sudden loudness, but smiled at Gir anyway. Gir was too cute to be mad at.

"Morning," Dib yawned. Gir jumped up on Dib's head and attached himself there happily.

"Why you two sleepin' in the same bed without clothes on?" Gir asked innocently. Dib and Zim both blushed and looked away, neither wanting to explain that particular thing to Gir. "Awwww! Makin' babies! I like babies…" Gir guessed on his own, how did Gir know something like that?

Dib started coughing out of embarrassment and got out of bed. "No. Certainly not, Gir," Dib forced out.

"Gir! Get off of Dib," Zim ordered, watching Gir jump off of Dib and onto the desk. Zim relaxed and laid back down lazily.

"Aren't you getting up?" Dib asked, watching Zim start to snooze.

Zim shrugged…as much as one can while lying down. "Why? What's there to do?" Zim asked, not moving. Zim found that there was nothing worth his while on the ship, so it was better if he just not get up in the first place.

"I don't know…we could just…hang out," Dib suggested quietly. But he had planned on talking to Gaz and Lloyd and planning out strategies. Zim had been trained mostly as a soldier, so he didn't really have anything to do with it. Unless there was direct destruction involved, Dib had the feeling that Zim would get bored and do something embarrassing and blunt. "Or…you could play with Inx?" He said, trying to help in some way. Inx was adorable and smart, Dib thought she was fun to be around.

"Pfff!" Zim scoffed loudly in almost an insulting manner, "Weird little smeet, I don't know where she grew up but she is _way_ different than smeets in my day!" Zim stared at the ceiling in irritation. Dib didn't know what to say, he felt uncomfortable suddenly. "She told me she was actually _bred_ and raised on the surface of Irk…rather than created and trained…" Zim mumbled, "Her parental units must have been great warriors…only they have that privilege."

"Really?" Dib asked curiously. He hadn't heard of Irkens being able to breed. It seemed like it was a huge honor, then, to be able to do something like that and to live peacefully. No wonder Inx was so fun-loving, she hadn't had to experience battle yet. Dib observed Zim's ever present scars, Zim seemed to ignore them, and Dib did too. But now they seemed like a huge mark of what Zim's past had really been like.

"Well…how about Mau, I haven't seen him much, you could do something with him," Dib suggested, trying to think of things for Zim to do. It really couldn't be good for him to just lay around all day. Maybe doing something with the insane Irken would keep him busy enough.

Zim looked lazily over at Gir banging his head on the wall. "Yeah…I've had enough crazy for one day…" Zim had a point there.

"Rin could show you around," Dib said, thinking of the last person he knew. Zim hadn't actually spoken to Rin yet that he knew. Zim shrugged again and got up. He snatched one of Dib's blue shirts and slipped it on. It was funny to see dark blue against light green skin.

"Fine, but only because I don't want to be stuck in a room with Gir all day," Zim said, pointing accusingly at the robot who had now decided to roll around on the floor. Dib grumbled, he'd have to take Gir with him now.

"Well, let's go," Zim said impatiently at the doorway. How was it that Zim was always ready before Dib? Dib finished, grabbed Gir on his way and headed out with Zim. He carried Gir in one hand and held Zim's hand in his other. Zim looked up at the ceiling as if annoyed, but Dib knew Zim was happy.

Dib stopped by a wall of calendars; there was one for each planet of the people aboard the ship. The only one Dib could read was the one for Earth, he already knew it was late December "Hey Zim, tomorrow's Christmas Eve," Dib said, regretting mentioning the words as they left his lips. Zim cringed and swore in Irken.

"That dreadful holiday again?" He asked bitterly. He turned away from Dib, although still held his hand.

"Oh come on, Zim, I bet this one will be way better," Dib said optimistically. Usually he detested the holiday as well, but this year he had someone worthwhile to spend it with. Zim glared at him. "You're just pessimistic because of your first Christmas here, aren't you?" Zim winced and looked away with embarrassment.

"Those children were obnoxious and gross…" Zim hissed with hatred. Dib continued walked, almost dragging Zim along. Gir remained quiet, he seemed enthralled in a hand-held game he had. It was probably Gaz's old game, strange that she let Gir have it.

"Whatever, you_ loved _them, didn't you?" Dib said annoyingly. He drew out the word loving to get on Zim's nerves.

"ZIM LOVES NO ONE!" Zim shouted. He looked at Dib and turned darker green. "…'cept…you know…Dib…" Zim mumbled. Dib grinned and quit teasing Zim. It always made him feel special when he was mentioned in Zim's in-third-person ramblings.

"So…you'll share Christmas with me?" Dib asked, full of hope. He looked at Zim's uncaring expression. Dib had always wanted to share a holiday with someone he loved. The past months they were together they sort of ignored the holidays. Most of them, at the time, were centered around food, and that presented a problem, so they went unnoticed. But Christmas was about more than food, okay, it was still about food, but they had food Zim could eat here. And Christmas was so special, for some reason Dib looked forward to it now.

Zim shrugged. "Isn't that a religious holiday? Dib said he was unreligious," Zim pointed out, still using third-person. Dib gave Zim an agitated look. "What?" Zim asked, not getting why Dib was suddenly frustrated.

"Look, Zim, Christmas is important to me…even with it's drawbacks…okay? Are you gonna be there with me for it, or not?" Dib asked strongly, watching Zim's expression. Zim was very surprised, shocked even that Dib would be so defensive about a holiday, but then he accepted it.

"Sure…" Zim admitted, grasping Dib's hand closer and walked right up against him. Dib sighed in relief, he didn't want to spend Christmas alone. Or well, with an insane robot and creepy sister anyway. Dib dropped Zim off with Rin, taking Gir with him. He'd give Gir back to Gaz when he saw her.

…

"So…" Zim said, for once attempting a conversation. Rin watched him with blank robotic eyes. Humans couldn't see it because their eyes weren't as strong as Irkens, but Zim had seen the robotic qualities of Rin the first time he saw her. For some reason robots made him very nervous now, which was why he never lingered around Rin much.

"Yes?" Rin prodded. She acted very much like a human would. Zim was impressed with her robotic engineering.

"Er…so this is the ship?" Zim asked, gesturing to their surroundings.

"Yes," Rin answered, a faint glimmer of confusion in her eyes. This, again, surprised Zim. It was like Gir, emotion in something mechanical. He was very impressed.

"Eh…" Zim could feel an awkward silence settling around them. "You were manufactured on Earth?"

"Yes," Rin said easily.

"By…by who?" Zim asked curiously, wondering who would be smart enough to build the girl.

"I…I don't remember his name," Rin said sadly. Hm, she could even inflect her voice to display emotion, it made Zim want to pry her open and look around. But he had _some_ manners, so he didn't.

"So the memory file was lost or deleted," Zim said unconsciously dismissing Rin's more human wording. She simply nodded in agreement. "Tell me, if you don't battle, what's your primary function?" Zim asked, peering down at her.

"I run the ship's navigation systems and-"

"Your_ original _primary functions," Zim corrected. On Earth they didn't have ships like this, it couldn't have been her reason for creation. Besides that, she was created as a young Earth female. Unless the creator had been horny at the time, she wouldn't have been made this was if she was only meant for navigation and such.

Rin only looked around nervously. Zim waited…waited a while for the answer, but Rin finally gave in to Zim's piercing glare. "My original primary function…I only had one, because there were other service drones to go the other work," Rin stated, not revealing her purpose quite yet.

"Service drones…did they look like you do?" Zim asked.

"No, they were built into the walls and were connected to the main computer without AI. They only had mechanical service arms. Much like the technology here," Rin told him. Zim figured it was something like that.

"So you're the only android like this?" Zim asked.

"I'm unsure if my master created others like me…but I haven't seen others…" Rin said, trailing off and looking away. Zim glared until she continued on. "But my purpose in that house…was to sing…"

"Sing?" Zim asked, almost laughing. "A complete android built for the mere purpose of _singing_?" That was an absolutely ridiculous idea. He could understand a voice synthesizer built into a computer and commanded to sing, even building it with AI. But an entire robot made so that humans mistook it for human, and all it did was sing?

"Yes," Rin said, seeming to be getting angry, "My purpose was only carried out for a year before I was stolen. But…I sang to a little boy…a boy who didn't have a mother to sing to him…"

"A mother?" Zim echoed. Rin surely didn't look like a mother at all. But now he could see why she was built this way. Most likely to trick the child into believing the android was a real person, rather than a computer AI. Humans found comfort in the strangest things. "Whatever…" Zim mumbled, letting the moment fall into silence. They came to simply stand in the break room, unsure of what to do next. They'd already gone over the whole ship now. Honestly, Zim had already seen the entire ship, but he didn't bother mentioning to Rin. She seemed happy to be doing something. But now they just stood around, unsure of things.

…

"Hey Red…what is that?" Purple said curiously. Red peered through the thick glass before them. It was a ship, traveling in some direction, and the Massive was flying pretty close to it.

"I don't know…" Red mumbled, trying to see the logo on the side. "Wait, I know that ship!"

"What, do they have snacks?" Purple asked.

"No, Purple, it has something way better," Red said evilly, directing the servants to get closer to the pathetic vessel.

…

"Gaz…for the last time, I. Am. Not. Seducing. The Tallest!" Dib said through gritted teeth. Gaz chuckled.

"But you're so good at it," She teased. Dib looked through the remaining plans she had laid out. They were all pretty good actually, except the one about him sneaking aboard and seducing the Tallest into giving up. That one was just plain stupid.

Dib sighed. "This is just like a video game to you isn't?" Dib asked rhetorically. He'd noticed that ever since Gaz obtained rein over Earth, she didn't have a single game on her.

"Sort of," She said, grinning. Lloyd seemed utterly confused, but Dib ignored it, not feeling like explaining something so small. "Are we done here now? It's been nearly all day and I have other engagements," Gaz said in an extremely bored voice.

"Sure," Dib sighed, now he could be away from both of these unpleasant people and back to keeping Zim entertained. He sure did get bored a lot. At least on Earth he had his labs to fiddle with then.

"Wait, Dib," Gaz called. Dib forced himself to turn around and wait patiently. "I'll be very busy so…take Gir with you, will you?" Gaz said in faux sweetness. Dib's jaw dropped as he stared at Gaz. Gir jumped on Dib's head and crawled down into Dib's backpack.

"Are you serious?" Dib asked in desperation.

"Why? Is there a problem with my decision?" Gaz asked with so much evil poison in her voice it made Dib shudder.

"N-no," Dib said, turning to walk out. Having Gir around wasn't half as bad as angering Gaz. He was about to go out in search of Zim, when an alarm…well…alarmed him. Dib looked around, wondering what was going on. Light-bulbs that he hadn't seen before lit up on the wall and flashed red.

"Hurry," Lloyd said as he passed Dib, "We must protect the Queen." Dib looked to see Gaz pulling a stealthy, dangerous-looking gun out of her jacket.

"I can protect myself, idiot," Gaz grumbled, following Lloyd for a moment before taking the lead. Dib caught up with them.

"What's going on?" He asked in a panic. Why were there flashing lights on the wall, and why did Gaz need a gun?

…

An alarm went off and sirens blared. Zim looked toward Rin, hoping it was just a drill or something stupid. She stared at the emergency lights on the wall sadly. "Let's hurry to the escape pods," Rin said calmly. Zim wanted to slap her for being so damn calm. But he knew it was only because she was an emotionless robot that she was so calm.

"Escape pods? Is the ship under attack?" Zim asked panicky. Rin nodded and began to walk down the hall again, slow and calm. Damn her. No, she was wrong. The pods could wait, Zim had to find Dib…he couldn't leave the ship without him. Adrenaline flooded his veins, causing him to run after Rin and pull her arm sharply. If she were human it may have broken her arm, but Rin just looked up at him curiously.

"NO! Where's Dib, we have to find him!" Zim yelled in her face. Rin didn't even flinch…dumb android.

"Dib is with Queen Gaz, they'll be rushed to the escape pods immediately, we should be able to get there at the same time if we hurry," Rin stated. Zim took action.

He grabbed her up on his back and pelted down the hall to the loading bay where the escape pods were. She said if they hurried they'd make it, Zim wanted to be absolutely sure Dib was safe. Rin didn't seem to mind being carried uncomfortably, though that wouldn't have stopped Zim anyway. The flashing red lights on the wall made Zim's heart race faster, implying that something bad was going to happen.

…

Dib peered up at the lights, they sure were annoying. He wondered if Zim was safe, if he'd be there soon. Dib was practically itching with anxiety. Not over the Queen being in danger, no, that didn't matter. His _love_ was in danger…that was the only important issue.

Gaz lifted her gun and fired at a doorway ahead of them. Someone from inside the door shrieked in pain. "They've made it inside!" Gaz yelled in anger as she thrust a gun into Dib's hands. Lloyd watched Gaz uneasily, he seemed intimidated by her. No, Gaz in danger really wasn't the issue here. She could take care of herself, in fact she was insulted by anyone trying to protect her.

Finally they reached the loading bay just as Irkens were gathering behind them. Dib wondered how in the world they got in, in the first place. Where were they even coming from? There was still a ways to go before they reached the escape pods. "ZIM!"" Dib yelled, seeing Zim just run in from across the bay, carrying Rin on his back. Zim put Rin down and ran to Dib, panting heavily.

"Dib, we…we have to…get to the…" Zim said, out of breath and winded. Dib watch curiously, Zim must have run a long way, he'd only ever seen Zim like this during or after sex.

"I know Zim, we'll make it," Dib promised. Zim nodded and they ran to catch up with Gaz and Lloyd who hadn't stopped when they did. They'd run a long ways ahead of them already and Dib and Zim weren't able to reach them. Gir popped out of Dib's bag and pointed up ahead to Gaz's side.

"Look, a bunny!" He yelled as a dark green blur grabbed out at Gaz. Gaz shot her gun several times at the Irkens reaching for her, but it did no good against their specialized armor. Lloyd tried to help, firing his own laser gun, but one of the Irkens pulled out his pak leg and swiped it right into Lloyd's heart, killing him instantly. He fell to the ground with a thud as the Irkens wiped the red blood from his pak leg.

"GAZ!" Dib yelled desperately, running to catch up with the vile men. They weren't harming her, it seemed their goal was to kidnap rather than assassinate. But Dib still couldn't stand the thought of Gaz being taken. He didn't want her to be taken to the Tallest and slaughtered in front of them…it was too much to bear.

…

Zim listened to Dib's anguished cries as he called out to his only familial unit left. It made Zim's chest hurt to see Dib in so much pain. It reminded him of when the Professor had died. Dib was broken about that for a long time…Zim didn't even know if Dib was over it. He couldn't let that happen again. The last time had been an error that would never happen again. Zim called up whatever strength he had left and willed his legs to pump faster, he pulled out his spider legs and pushed himself forward even more. He passed Dib and soon reached the men abducting Gaz.

"Let her go!" Zim commanded, attempting to stab them with his pak legs. One of the soldiers laughed cruelly and countered Zim's pak leg with his own. Their fight of dominance had just begun.

"You think we'd just betray the Tallest like _you_, Zim?" He asked. Zim growled at their insult and reached for the man carrying Gaz away. He had to admit, Gaz had some fight in her; she was clawing, kicking and maiming the Irken trying to carry her. Finally he brought out bonds and two more soldiers helped to carry her away.

Zim started to run to Gaz when something grasped him hard by his pak, dragging him painfully backward. Two Irken soldiers grabbed his arms after much struggling and pulled them behind Zim's back. They weren't broken, but it still hurt a lot. Zim winced and focused on the last Irken left who wasn't busy restraining someone. He paced slowly in front of Zim.

"You know what, we have a special _treat_ for you, Zim," The cruel Irken drawled out, stepping in front of Zim. Zim could hear the hate and anguish behind the Irkens words that he'd always ignored before. How had he been so ignorant? "The Tallest themselves designed it, it's made especially for you," He taunted, bringing out a syringe from his pak. Zim struggled against the soldiers, but they held him steady and kept him still. The first Irken stuck Zim with the sharp needle. Pain flooded Zim as he strained to hear what the man was saying.

"You want to live with humans? Then die like one," He said with venom in his voice. Zim just barely heard him say it as darkness overcame the area. Was there a power failure? Everything was getting dark and cold and Zim couldn't hear anything. Was there a problem with the power, or him?

…

"ZIM!" Dib yelled at the top of his lungs, just making it in time to catch Zim as the soldiers roughly dropped him and scampered away at high speed on their pak legs. Dib wanted to chase them and beat the hell out of them, but he didn't want to leave Zim alone. Especially when he hadn't seen what those men did to Zim. He wondered what they did make Zim fall unconscious.

Dib sat there in a stunned panic for a few minutes, wondering if the ship was safe now or not, when Rin finally caught up to him. For an android, she was pretty slow. "Dib…we still need to go, they're taking over the ship," Rin informed him. She looked a little worried, Dib wondered if she meant to do that, or if she was honestly worried.

"Uh, right…okay," He said confusedly. Why would they want the ship? They already had Gaz and had killed the captain. Oh well. Dib lifted Zim up by one shoulder, and Rin was quick to help at the other side. Together they ran awkwardly to the pods.

"Inx and Mau shouldn't have any trouble finding one for themselves," Rin said in that annoyingly calm way of hers. Dib nodded though, he did care for the little girl, she was too innocent to be kidnapped now.

Dib spotted a good-sized ship, it wasn't exactly an escape pod, but it looked fast enough. And it was Irken, which Dib mostly understood now, thanks to years spying. Dib headed for it, confusing Rin. "Dib, that's not an escape vessel," Rin pointed out.

"Yeah, but it looks way bigger and probably has much better equipment," Dib explained, "And I bet it's just as fast as those things anyway." Rin shrugged and went along with Dib to the entrance. The vessel certainly was large. Dib laid Zim down on a table in the main room of the ship and went to the controls. They launched safely out, it was a bit slower than Dib's calculations, but it didn't matter. Just as long as they were setting out and they were safe.

For the most part.

Dib looked over at Zim, still unconscious. Again. Why did bad things keep happening to Zim all the time? Dib wished for once that they would happen to himself, and not Zim. Zim wasn't that bad of a person anymore, so why was he still being punished this way? Dib set the controls to keep going ahead and went over to Zim. It certainly wasn't fair. Dib was starting to worry now…he hadn't seen the soldiers do anything too violent, although Zim's back had been to him then. It didn't seem like there was much struggling.

Rin went over to the controls and messed around with something. Dib let her be figuring she knew what she was doing. Zim stirred slightly, Dib's heart was beating so fast it nearly stopped. "Zim, are you okay?" Dib cooed by Zim's head. Zim's dark maroon eyes opened and glanced at Dib.

"I'unno…" He mumbled, twitching a smiled at Dib. Dib wanted to hit him for that kind of answer, but he smiled supportively, taking Zim's hand and waiting.

"What did those soldiers do?" Dib asked.

"I…" Zim's eyes looked up and were lost in thought. "I don't remember…" He said finally.

"Well…you'd better be okay," Dib told him, nestling his head on Zim.

…

When Dib asked if Zim was okay, he didn't know what to say. His chest hurt and throat was on fire, but he didn't want to tell Dib that. Dib was bothered enough by Gaz being kidnapped, Zim could see it in his eye, that same feeling of loss. Zim got up and went to the controls, Dib following close behind. Zim honestly couldn't remember what happened to him, he remembered the man's words, die like a human, but what did he do?

All three turned in surprise as they heard a click down the hall. "Hey everyone," A squat red-eyed Irken said as he stepped out of a cabinet and presented himself before them. He was wearing an Invader's uniform, though it was stained, and looked rather lazy.

"Skoodge?" Zim asked in a curious voice, pointing at the Irken, "I thought the Almighty Tallest killed you?"

"Yeeeeaaahhh," He drawled out, "But I'm okay now. I've been following you guys." He grinned and looked completely happy. Gir burst out of nowhere and glomped Skoodge's head. Dib wondered how in the world someone could be 'okay' after getting killed, but he dismissed it, Irkens were strange.

"You mean you've been stalking us?" Zim asked, getting paranoid, "For how long?"

"Since you left Earth," Skoodge reported happily. Gir chewed on Skoodge's antenna, but he didn't seem to notice. Zim looked like he was on the verge of a paranoid freak out.

"Eh, Skoodge, since you're here…why don't you…go make food?" Dib suggested quickly. Skoodge shrugged and left the room.

"How…how could we _not_ notice him?" Zim asked himself. Rin shrugged and watched her monitors. Zim calmed down. "Well, I guess…it can't be helped."

"That's the spirit," Dib said optimistically. He made sure Zim was okay and then went to the kitchen where Skoodge was standing awkwardly. Gir was making waffles. Dib sighed, but didn't stop him. Dib knew Zim could eat waffles…as long as he didn't eat too many anyway. "Hey, you," Dib said, catching Skoodge's attention. "Did you see where those guys went with Gaz?"

"That purple haired lady? No, but they sure were fast," Skoodge remarked.

Dib sighed in frustration. If he was stalking them he should know something helpful. "Then did you see what those guys did to Zim?" He asked. Skoodge shook his head and watched Gir again. Skoodge seemed completely useless…maybe he had _some_ qualities that could help though. Dib looked him over. If there was anything it was hidden deep within Skoodge, who seemed to be one of the calmer Irkens.

…

Gaz sat in a small metal holding pin. There was a blindfold around her eyes, forbidding her to look at her surroundings. Tight bonds restricted both her wrists, cutting into them sharply. She thought about how she came to be here. It was Lloyd's fault for not being dependable enough…no, it was no one's fault. NO. It was the Irkens fault. They took her, and they're the only ones who deserved blame for it. Gaz let her anger and frustration form into an intense hatred for the Irkens. It was such a deep hatred that she was actually surprised by it, but she kept on building the hatred, it was bigger and deeper than any of her hatred for anyone else. Well…maybe not Iggins, but that boy had it coming. He deserved to die under that elevator.

Her hate was so great, that when one of the soldiers finally removed her blindfold, he actually flinched and backed away. "Bring. Me. The. Tallest," Gaz growled. She glared at him until he left and she was alone again. There was a small window to her pin, she could see an abandoned hallway. The wall was red…of course.

After a while Gaz began to get bored and wondered how much effort it would take to break down the door. Probably not much seeing how faulty Irken technology has proven in the past. Maybe that was just Zim's tech, but Gaz didn't really care. Before Gaz had gotten bored enough to actually try busting down the door, someone opened it. She peered out of her pin and looked up, far up, at two faces.

"It's ugly," One said.

"And sort of smelly," The other added.

"Well, I wouldn't be ugly and smelly if you hadn't locked me in a cage!" Gaz yelled fiercely. The purple one laughed. Gaz thought both of them looked dumb, standing…err, floating, before her while eating snacks. She would make them _pay_ for this, big time. The red one didn't laugh, just bring his face closer to Gaz.

"I think you'd still be that ugly no matter what we did," He said, wincing at her. Gaz growled deeply, causing both of them to jump.

"What the hell are you gonna do with me?" Gaz asked, voice full of anger and hate. Purple looked genuinely afraid for his life, while Red couldn't look more bored.

"We'll see, for the mean time be quiet," Red snapped at her. They slammed the door shut and walked away, leaving Gaz in the dark. Even the lights in the hall went out. She could wait, it would be a long time perhaps, but she would get her revenge. The cold dark room, they lack of food, limited movement. Yes, they would definitely die. When they took Gaz, they made a mistake, and that mistake was putting her so close to the Tallest.

She then occupied her time in the tiny cell thinking of all the different ways she could mutilate the Irken leaders. It gave her so much pleasure to imagine the bloody gory things she knew how to do. Soon enough the hallway full of cell became full of laughter, maniacal, evil, twisted laughter. And no one was brave enough to go down the hall to make the noise stop.

…

Skoodge didn't know how to cook…surprisingly. Dib wondered how Zim knew, but he couldn't focus with Gir screeching next to his head. Dib pushed him off onto the floor. Gir started to roll around and scream. How did Zim used to handle this all the time?

"So, where are we headed?" Skoodge asked, as if it were his business to know.

Dib sighed, he hadn't even thought of it yet. "I don't know…" He admitted, rather than make up a planet. As dumb as Skoodge seemed, he might see through Dib's lie.

"How about Earth?" Skoodge suggested. Dib glared at him, Earth was a stupid idea.

"Skoodge, the Irkens are invading Earth, they'll find us there," Dib told him.

"Yeeeeaaaahhh, but it's exactly where they won't expect us to go," He said optimistically.

"Wait…what?" Dib asked, confused by the Irkens strange logic.

"They expect us to go somewhere safe, and not back to Earth, so if we go to earth, they won't find us!" He explained happily.

"That…almost makes sense…" Dib said, thinking about that possibility. Irkens in general didn't seem to think things through, so they might not expect them to head to Earth at all, seeing it's extreme danger.

"We evade danger by heading straight to it," Skoodge said, to further his point.

"Yeah, let's go to Earth," Dib decided. They could have Christmas on Earth together. Maybe Inx and Mau would find them by then. It would be so lovely.

"Dib!" Rin called anxiously from the front, interrupting Dib's nice thoughts. Dib grumbled, but went back to the control room with Skoodge on his tail, to see Zim passed out on the floor.

"ZIM!" Dib cried, rushing to his side and falling to his knees next to Zim, he was laced in sweat and looked extremely tired.

"I didn't do anything this time, I promise," Rin reassured.

"He doesn't look good," Skoodge mumbled.

Gir ran into the room, excited by all the people talking and saw Zim on the ground. "Awww, he sick?" Gir asked. Dib nodded gravely and Gir jumped onto Dib's head.

"I make you better, Mary," Gir chirped. Dib silently thanked that Gir was so oblivious.

Dib picked Zim up in his arms, planning to find a bed for Zim, but ended up just holding him on the floor instead. He didn't have the strength for this right now, he just sat and held Zim close, feeling how warm his skin was getting. Just what was going on?

The others left, finding ways to busy themselves, Dib remained where he was. He occupied his mind by thinking like his father, deducing what could be the possible cause of Zim's misfortune. Why he was sweating and hot and passed out. He wondered for a while until something happened that made Dib realize everything and curse the Irkens for causing all of this. This was worse than anything that had happened, and Dib didn't know if Zim could handle what was happening now.

…

…

…

…

Hehe, cliffhangery goodness! Everyone needs a good healthy dose of it.

Just a couple things to comment on. Lloyd: I didn't like him and didn't much care to extend his personality…and he was in space with a red shirt on, so everyone should have seen that one coming. Lol, I'm such a dork.

Okay, and! Epic, it is the word that resonates in my mind and brings cause to think more deeply than normally expected. It is the feeling of being more and pushing all power into one thing and making it as good as it can possibly be. Epic…such a word causes all other words to shine just a little less bright as this word is the almighty sun of words. Poetic huh? I like the word epic, obviously hehe. I just feel I haven't been giving this fic my all lately, mostly because of my other projects I have going too. But anyway, hope this chapter was epic, and makes up for so much lateness!

Thank you everyone for commenting :) It really makes my day and lets me know someone cares to read this. See you guys later 3


	5. Ill

Chapter Five: Ill

Dib sat in the control room alone, peering out at the beautiful dark. He didn't see it quite the same as he used to. Every star seemed like it could hold either something good or something bad. He was almost too afraid to find out now. Every planet seemed to deliver something bad to them, despite the outer beauty. Dib hoped they would be all right on Earth. They could find a distant place where the Meekrob weren't around. Or they could keep Zim on the ship if they had to. But Dib knew they had to land soon, being in space was freaking Zim out too much. He kept waking up thinking that they were under attack from space pirates. It really worried Dib.

It claimed thousands of lives every year. It caused pandemics. It was causing Dib's heart to break right now. Zim was utterly sick. Really, really sick. It even made Gir turn away, and he was a _robot_. At first Dib thought it was the flu, but he ran Zim's DNA through the ship's computer. It seemed like a combination of Earth diseases and foreign ones Dib didn't recognize.

Zim seemed like he was in pain, though he kept saying he was just fine and ignoring the thought that something might be wrong. But he was so weak too, he mostly slept now. He had already been sleeping a lot, but never this much before. Dib figured it was good for Zim's system to be asleep though. Skoodge was trying to be helpful, but the thing was…that he wasn't. Skoodge tried to cook and tried to help with Zim, but he wasn't very good at accomplishing things. Earlier when Zim was done puking his guts out, Dib took him to the infirmary of the ship, leaving everyone else in the front room. Rin had gone back to the controls and Gir was playing with something. The only one left without anything to do was Skoodge, who mopped the floor. Dib had to admit; Skoodge could at least do that right. In the end though, Dib finally just told him to patrol outside the med room where Zim was.

Finally Earth was in Dib's view. He didn't know whether to be excited or nervous, he ended up being both. Who knew what would happen on the planet. Maybe something bad, but there was one reason Dib was excited, Zim might find some help on Earth. If nothing else, then peace. Dib went to see Rin about landing. "Hey Rin," He said, watching her cut up something that looked like vegetables.

"Good evening, Dib," Rin said cheerily.

"What are you doing?" Dib asked curiously.

"Making soup. I learned how to when I lived on Earth," Rin told him. She seemed so content to be doing something so mundane.

"So, where should we land? We need an unpopulated place with okay living conditions," Dib said to the android. They needed a place with minimal people and not too hot or cold, so Zim wouldn't get worse. Rin's eyes went blank as she looked, wirelessly, through the ships computer files. Dib waited and watched as Rin turned around wordlessly to the map of Earth on the wall behind her and pointed to somewhere in the middle of the United States. "Good work, Rin," Dib said proudly.

"There are no Meekrob and plenty of available supplies," Rin reported, "I'll go set the coordinates." Dib nodded and watched her leave.

…

Zim glared up at the harsh white lights above. It was far too bright there, how was Zim supposed to sleep or even think. It was too cold too; Zim was freezing cold and extremely uncomfortable sitting on the white infirmary bed. Even though he had boasted of surviving below freezing weather and coming from a planet colder than anything, in several ways…Zim felt that his type of cold was just…wrong. He was hot and cold at the same time, and it made his head spin. His skin was so warm and he was sweating…but it was still so cold…Zim wished Dib would hurry up and come make him warm again. Dib was spending so much time away and it bothered Zim deeply. Dib was his, and he needed to be here.

Skoodge was outside the door, but that wasn't enough to satisfy Zim. Skoodge tended to be useless when asked to help. Which was why Dib needed to be here, right now. Zim coughed weakly, the small action making his throat rip and burn. It had finally calmed down too, the pain. Sitting still was good, less painful. The spasms of coughing and moving were difficult to push down, but it was worth it, otherwise was more than Zim could deal with.

He was sitting on the edge of the bed, facing the door in wait for Dib. But his body was failing him…getting exhausted with the effort of sitting up and being conscious. Zim didn't want to lay down, didn't want to move. If he moved, he knew a new threshold of pain would be brought down upon his head. Earlier when he wasn't aware of it, Zim had been pacing and moving around, but that made his head hurt horribly. If he moved even a little, the intense headache that was sleeping would awaken and beam into life, making Zim miserable.

There was one good thing about this room, Zim decided. It was sterile. The room was clean and germ-free. Which made Zim relax, somewhat. Ever since that incident long ago involving germs and meat…Zim was a little on edge about filth. But this place made him feel…safe. If only Dib would come now, this place would be more bearable. Now matter how clean this room could be, Zim still wanted out. And more than he wanted out, he wanted Dib. He wanted to march out of the room and order Dib to come in…but he knew he couldn't do that. No matter how much he lied to himself and to Dib, Zim was still just a damaged soldier. So he waited in attempted patience.

…

Oh they would pay. This was worse than anything Dib had done to annoy her. The Irkens gawked and laughed at her, pointing their ugly little fingers at her. She glared at them to no avail; they all knew she could do nothing to them. Gaz was a servant to the Irken Empire. She wondered why they didn't just kill her; it was a huge mistake on their part, although they had chosen a fitting duty for her.

Gaz had always hated dresses, except for black ones at Hot Topic. And, true, this dress was black, but it was too small. The bottom of it was a tutu, which was bad enough, but it was higher than it should have been, showing her black, lace panties to all who wished to see. The upper half was like a tank-top, but more revealing, her bra was quite visible. Over all, Gaz felt like a whore. Her 'service' didn't help that thought.

…

Red and Purple were very entertained, taking in the sight of the former Earth-Queen. The small glass box was visible to all the Irkens aboard the Massive. Inside the box was a girl and a pole, the girl was forced to serve the tallest by swinging herself around the pole. A form of dancing on Earth. Rather than accepting the attention and being happy to be graced with Irken viewers, the girl glared out maliciously at the crowd, as if promising death.

"This is really fun," Purple noted.

"Yeah, it is," Red agreed.

"Hey, popcorn!" Purple yelled out of distraction.

…

Zim was nearly asleep when Dib walked in ominously. Zim snapped awake and glared at him, although in his state it was more like staring than glaring. Glaring took too much energy, so Zim stared, wishing Dib would pick up on Zim's irritation. Dib just stood there awkwardly, as if he didn't want to be there, he wasn't even looking at Zim. "W-we're gonna land soon…" Dib informed him.

"Land where?" Zim asked, hoping Dib would stay and not leave him alone in the room again.

"Earth," Dib said in a hollow tone, making Zim's antenna perk up.

"Earth?" Zim asked. Had he heard right? Earth, what was Dib thinking?

"The safest place is in the eye of the storm," Dib mumbled. Zim ignored the strange Earth phrase he didn't understand and took in Dib's weary appearance, how his words held no strength or conviction.

"Dib-beast!" Zim snapped. Dib jumped, but still refused to look at Zim. "Why won't you look at me, dammit?" Zim asked angrily. Dib looked down at his feet, ashamed. But he didn't answer or look at Zim, and Zim was more impatient than usual. "Filthy HYUMAN! What's wrong with you!" Zim yelled. It hurt him badly to burst like that, rubbing his throat like sandpaper and beating his head like a drum. But it was worth it.

Dib growled in frustration and started to pace, still not glancing at Zim. "What's wrong with me? With me, Zim? Just look at yourself!" Dib yelled as though Zim were missing something obvious.

"I _can_ see myself, idiot! It's you I want to look at me!" Zim snapped at him.

"No, you're the idiot! I can't believe you!" Dib yelled with an emotion Zim couldn't place. Dib calmed down and stood still. "Try and imagine what I'm feeling right now, seeing you this way…" Dib whispered. Zim was glad Dib stopped yelling, it was hurting his head. But he peered at Dib, sensing something…off about him.

Imagine what he's feeling. What was Dib feeling? Zim couldn't place it. He honestly hadn't thought of that until now. But he observed Dib's face carefully. Zim remembered this from somewhere. When Dib's parental unit was killed, that was this face. But Dib wasn't dying, and the ship was safe. But Gaz got kidnapped. "Dib, we'll get her back, Gaz will be fine," Zim assured him. Zim failed to save Gaz, and now Dib was paying for that. Zim failed, and now Dib wouldn't look at him. Now he'd have to rescue her, if not for his pride, then for Dib.

As soon as Zim said the words though, Dib laughed. Something sparked in his eyes, remembrance maybe, and Dib covered his face with his hands. "Oh God, Zim," He moaned with laughter in his voice. "Only you can be so arrogant and modest at the same time…" Zim watched as Dib started to tremble. It was so confusing, Dib was showing so many emotions, it wasn't clear what he was upset about.

Zim got up, wincing and ignoring the pain that followed, and slowly made his way towards Dib. Dib hadn't heard Zim get up, so when Zim poked Dib in the head, he jumped and glanced at Zim in surprise. Zim almost grinned in victory, but Dib's shocked and hurt face stopped him. Dib seemed worse up close. Zim attempted a sympathetic look. "Dib…what's wrong?" Zim asked again, more softly.

Dib almost crumpled at being so close to Zim now, but Zim wanted to know something, so Dib remained standing. He tried to pull himself together so Zim wouldn't be more worried than he already was. "It's nothing, Zim…really. I'm sorry that I…yeah," Dib said, composing himself. Zim stared at him, obviously not understanding. "I'm just…worried. About you," Dib said, adding the last part so Zim wouldn't get confused again.

Zim's mind was a cloudy mass of sleep, anxiety and pain. He gazed up at Dib, not really catching his words. But Zim admired Dib's warmth. It was in his eyes and his voice and his body radiated it, welcoming Zim. Just as Zim felt he was about to pass out… "I'm just…worried. About you." That made Zim think. It didn't make sense that Dib would worry over Zim. Gaz was the one in the arms of the Irken Empire. Zim was just…damaged. His body would fix itself in a day. Dib knew that, so he shouldn't be worried. Unless there_ was _something worry about. Maybe Dib knew something, like that Zim couldn't be repaired.

"If you're worried," Zim mumbled, sleepily, "You should stay." Zim leaned into the warmth of Dib and closed his eyes, hoping the warmth wouldn't go away. If Zim was going to die, he wanted it to be with Dib. He was so angry at the Empire for what they did to Zim and to Gaz. They probably did something horrible to Gaz, who knew. But what was worst of all, was the way Dib was taking it all. Zim felt strong, steady hands on his backside, pressing him closer, enveloping him in warmth. Zim grinned, dib was finally here, finally driving the cold away.

"I'm so sorry, Zim," Dib murmured, pressing tighter. "So…sorry." Zim shook his head, Dib wasn't the one who should be sorry, but he was too tired to explain that to Dib. Zim nuzzled Dib's chest and hoped he got the message.

Dib watched his alien beside him. Zim seemed so sleepy and serene with Dib so near. He _was_ sorry, too. Sorry that in a minute he would have to leave again and Zim would be so mad, he could just stay, but it hurt too much. This all made Dib think of the past, and the past was filled with scary things.

…

Mini-moose floated around his new home. The space shit was a lot different from the inside of Gir's head, where he'd been trapped for who knows how many months. He finally escaped earlier when Gir found some rocks to put in his head instead. Now Mini-moose wandered, hoping there were no other life forms so terrifying as Gir.

"What are you?" A lazy voice asked itself above. Mini-moose looked up from the floor he was floating just above to see the speaker. He was a rather large squat Irken with a dirty uniform. He had glassy red eyes like Zim, except they seemed to hold less violence in them. Mini-moose squeaked at him, praying to Jashin that this person was nice. "Mini-moose? Oh yeah, you belong to Zim, I remember now. Remember me? I'm Skoodge," the Irken said happily. Mini-moose had forgotten over the years. He wondered where Skoodge had been for all that time that he been supposedly living in their basement. Oh well, things happen.

Mini-moose squeaked excitedly. If anyone could save him from Gir, it was Skoodge. Skoodge was equally as happy, the little purple creature had something, there was something in his eyes that compelled Skoodge to protect him. Finally, he thought, a duty that doesn't involve Zim.

…

It was feeding time, and at least the Irkens knew how to eat. They gave Gaz time to herself in a locked room with no one else watching her. This put her in a good mood, but what was even better was the food. Pizza, soda, donuts, soft pretzels. It didn't seem healthy, but it tasted amazing after a long day, or a couple of Irk hours, of being a pole dancer on a foreign planet.

Gaz didn't know why they put her in a room by herself to eat. Either it was mercy, or they were too disgusted by her eating. She pretended it was the latter. She wouldn't accept mercy, she wasn't weak like that. She would never let anyone see her in pain like that. Someone down the hall shrieked in pain. Gaz smirked and looked at the door. "Whiner."

…

Dib looked at his surroundings, this place used to be Nevada. He thought the desert had been empty before…but now it was edging on a wasteland. They were near a town though, it seemed small and devoid of Meekrob. It would have to do. Dib went back inside to get Rin. The Irkens would stay in the ship while Rin and Dib checked out the town.

Zim, of course, was furious at the idea of being left behind and not included in the 'mission.' He would've snuck out, but Dib locked him in the infirmary to steam by himself. Zim, for some reason or another, still couldn't see why Dib was worried about him so much. Dib wanted to just yell his love at Zim, but an emotional scene would take a lot of time and wear both of them out.

Dib and Rin quickly left the ship before Gir knew they were leaving. Gir was another problem altogether. But thankfully they made it without him. Dib and Rin walked towards the town cautiously in silence. Dib almost recognized the dusty signs, remembering them from long ago. He had seen them on TV and a couple of times in person when his dad flew them out there to see some fabulous machine he'd made. The eerie silence bothered Dib, but Rin was unaffected. She was scanning for life forms in the ghost town.

"Dib, there's a small group of humans over there," Rin told him, pointing to a building. Dib looked, it didn't seem like there would be anyone living there. Most of the buildings were collapsing and damaged. And the building she pointed out was one of the worse ones. Dib was starting to doubt her until he felt the hot prick of a weapon held to his throat.

…

Anger, sickness and boredom permeated the air of the room. It smelled bad, but Zim ignored the smell. He was leaned against the door, sitting on the floor. The surfaces were cold and prickled his skin, but his anger was enough that he forgot how cold the room was. Dib had left him here alone. Zim was fuming, freezing, aching and lonely, and Dib left him here.

He tried to force the thought away, but Dib reminded Zim of someone. A person who left Zim in a small cold room alone to suffer. Dib was becoming like the person they both had once hated. Zim wasn't sure how Dib would take this news. Maybe he wouldn't tell Dib, yeah that was best. Most human teenagers were very agitated when told they're like their parental units.

…

Much time later…

"Skoodge!" Zim yelled hoarsely through the door for the hundredth time. Skoodge looked at the door sympathetically, Zim had been yelling for Skoodge to unlock him ever since he found out Skoodge was nearby. But Skoodge knew that he couldn't do that, not until Dib came back. Skoodge was on strict orders.

"Skoodge! Fucking let me out right now! You pussy! You bastard! Open this door!" Zim yelled. Skoodge wondered how the sick Irken had the energy to do that. He was a little worried about Zim's extreme anger, but he was probably madder that no one was obeying him rather than being locked in a room. He didn't see what the big deal was. It was nice and cold with lots of light, just like back home…except during the blackouts Zim caused, of course. It was strange for an Irken to just change preferences like that. Maybe Dib changed Zim.

Ignoring Zim's next few shouts, Skoodge looked around. There was a bulletin board of calendars. He looked at the Irken one, disappointed that no events were near yet. But something colorful on Earth's calendar caught his eyes. "Hey Zim!" Skoodge called out, interrupting Zim's current tirade. "Guess what today is!"

"…" Zim stopped yelling and the ship fell into an uneasy silence. Skoodge shifted uncomfortably, knowing Zim sometimes took a while to think things through. He hoped Zim hadn't taken offense to Skoodge's question. "Friday?" Zim asked, barely audible compared to his yelling.

"Er, no," Skoodge said, on Earth it was actually Tuesday anyway.

"Lies!" Zim yelled unexpectedly. Skoodge doubted that Zim even knew what day it was.

"It's Christmas Eve!" Skoodge told him excitedly. Skoodge loved Earth holidays, especially Christmas. They were just so happy compared to Irk. Zim however growled in anger and disgust.

"Ugh! That stupid thing again! I hate it!" Zim yelled. Skoodge leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. This type of yelling from Zim was normal.

"Dib doesn't think it's stupid," Skoodge pointed out. Zim was silent, contemplating it. Skoodge took that time to hopefully make the holiday easier. "You should get Dib something for Christmas," He suggested. "Since you two seem so close now."

"Like what?" Zim asked more calmly.

"Mm, I don't know. I don't know anything about humans," Skoodge sighed.

"You've been stalking us for how long and you don't know anything about humans!" Zim yelled in frustration.

Skoodge shrugged, not caring that Zim couldn't see the action. "What does he like?" Skoodge asked. Zim was silent for a minute.

"Paranormal stuff," Zim said sheepishly.

"Uh huh," Skoodge prodded, wanting Zim to go on.

"And food," Zim muttered, trying to remember what they used to do on Earth and when they were on vacation.

"All humans eat food," Skoodge pointed out. Zim stayed silent. "You'll figure it out," He assured, Zim was too sick and under stress from Earth being in danger and Dib wandering around to possibly think of a Christmas gift.

"A collar," Zim said coldly, the anger and betrayal in his voice startling Skoodge.

"W-why t-that?" Skoodge asked timidly, afraid to know.

"So he can't fucking LEAVE! So he can't leave me all alone in this FUCKING ROOM!" Zim burst out in sudden anger. Over the years Zim had gotten somewhat calmer, but now Skoodge could see him old tension and anger coming back. Skoodge was honestly scared, hoping Dib would come back soon to calm Zim down.

"WeeeeeeeI!" A shrill scream filled the hallway. Skoodge really hoped it wasn't what he thought it was.

"Hey," Gir said with surprising calmness as he stood before Skoodge.

"H-hey," Skoodge said, backing away.

"WANNA MUFFIN?" Gir asked, arms flailing.

"S-sure, Gir," He sighed, happy that was all that Gir wanted. Gir popped a plastic pig out of his head and sat on the floor with it. While Zim was getting angrier, Gir was becoming calmer. Adding Dib definitely changed things. Though for the better or worse, Skoodge couldn't decide.

"GIR!" Zim yelled, making Skoodge pay more attention. "Open the door!" Zim ordered. Skoodge didn't move to stop Gir, thinking the defective robot wouldn't actually do anything. Gir jumped up and smashed the hinges on the door and peeled it out to fall to the floor.

Skoodge was stunned, first of all, surprised that Gir followed an order for once. Second, how unnecessary was it to break the door when he could have just unlocked it instead. Third, the amount of hate and turmoil was in the glare Skoodge was receiving from Zim.

He ran as fast as he could as Zim jumped on Gir's back and came flying at Skoodge. "I'm sorry!" Skoodge yelled, fleeing from the deranged Irken.

…

Two hours later…

Zim and Skoodge had found a couch and TV somewhere within the ship and sat down. Zim was still pissed at Skoodge, but at least now he was too tired to do anything. That and Gir got distracted along the way and left to make pasta. Skoodge thought human television was amazing. All the shows gravitated around stupidity, randomness and boredom. Especially the reality shows, they were the best. Zim merely glared at the screen.

"Come on Zim, lighten up!" Skoodge said, nudging him. Zim's eyes remained on the screen as he dug an elbow deep into Skoodge's middle. He might be sick and dying, but he could still kick Skoodge's ass.

"Not 'til Dib comes back," Zim growled.

"He's just protecting you…" Skoodge defended. He liked Dib, he was reasonable and didn't cause senseless violence.

"Pfff…" Zim stopped paying attention and slumped even more on the couch. Skoodge gave up and just watched the TV screen. They were about halfway through a designing show with some blonde guy named Austin when something happened to the TV.

"Even when all of mankind has gone commando, we can still make military look stylin'," Austin said, pulling out some fabric. He did something cute and then jumped into a bigger guy's arms. Skoodge was loving it. He never thought a military uniform could look so good. Zim just looked bored.

"Silly poofs…" Zim mumbled. Skoodge didn't bother to ask what Zim meant, since Zim probably made up his own slang as he went along anyway. But when he turned back to the TV screen, Austin was gone, replaced by the back of a chair.

"Hey…what happened?" Skoodge questioned, picking up the remote.

Zim sighed. "Someone hacked into the system and is now transmitting a live video feed…stupid." Skoodge stared a Zim for what must have been a full minute before turning back to the TV and seeing that what Zim said was true. The person in the chair turned around to face them. Skoodge gasped, Zim yawned.

"Hello boys," Gaz said calmly.

"G-Gaz! We thought you got kidnapped!" Skoodge burst out.

Gaz stared at Skoodge, he realized that they'd never officially met before, what with him stalking them and so on. "Hey. You aren't stalking anymore," Gaz mumbled. Skoodge's face grew hot as Gaz continued. "Where's Dib?" She questioned.

"Um…out. But where are _you_? How did you escape?" Skoodge asked.

Gaz grinned and cocked her head. "That's a subject for another time, dear stupid Irken. But for now, you should probably be more focused on your location. Irken ships can locate one another, you know? I thought you would know that since you're an Invader…and moreover Irken. But I guess since you're stupid you wouldn't. And you wouldn't know that the Meekrob have the technology to sense Irken property. There is a manual switch to shut the locators off in the ship, but since I still see your presence on my radar, I would guess you don't know how to do that."

Skoodge could say nothing as he listened to Gaz. In his own silence though, he noticed something about the live feed. "So, I would suggest you find Dib and leave, preferably without the aid of Irken tech, since I still need to talk to Dib and what-not. And if Zim dies or becomes imprisoned by my men, well…I suppose he wouldn't much be open for conversation would he?"

"Thank you Queen Gaz, for warning us," Skoodge said, humbly nodding. He glanced at Zim to see that the poor deranged Irken had fallen asleep.

"Whatever, I won't be your Queen much longer. By the way, tell Gir I said hi," Gaz mumbled. Gir came out of nowhere just as the transmission ended.

"NOOOOOOO!" Gir slammed into the TV and started bawling. Skoodge got up to stop him and tell him to be quiet, but one glance at Zim said there would be no need to bother. Zim was out cold, all the yelling and drama and anger finally getting to him. Skoodge doubted he even slept while locked up, what with being so angry at Dib.

"Gaz said hi, Gir," Skoodge uttered, plucking Gir up by his single antenna. Gir let out a squeal of joy and did a little dance while still in mid-air. Skoodge couldn't help but wonder what Gaz meant by she wouldn't be his queen much longer.

Skoodge wondered if he should look for Dib and Rin. They were the most responsible of their group, and yet…they had been gone for a very long time. Maybe searching could wait for just a little while, they probably got lost or something and were right on their way back.

He let Gir back on the floor. Gir, happy once more, pulled a rock out of his head and began banging it on the metal flooring. Skoodge glanced at Zim and wondered how he put up with Gir all the time. Gir was pretty hard to stand, especially now that Gaz wasn't here to occupy him. Chills went up Skoodge's spine as he remembered what he had noticed about Gaz's transmission. The way it was being fed had been far too familiar, but that wasn't the only thing. Gaz had been surrounded by panels of technology and equipment. All of it had been Irken, all of it had been functional. Was Gaz just escaping…or had something far different begun to happen. Did the Tallest brainwash Gaz? Surely not, she wouldn't have been so nice to him otherwise. Then what?

…

…

…

…

…

Gah! I'm so extremely sorry! I am devious and mean for not posting a chapter in so long! GAH! If you still want to read this fic…then…I-I love you! (Gir tears commence) Ahem. Yeah well. It seems like everyone is busy these past couple months. But now that my school schedule has finally stopped moving around, I promise to try and keep posting again. I promise not to give up on this fic!

BTW. I love that show called "On the Road With Austin and Santino"! They are the most perfect gay couple of all reality television! There I said it! (Starts crying dramatically) Anywho. Hopefully the next chapter will be posted in a reasonable amount of time. Not like two months again XO

(Oh yeah, and I feel special, I finally know what ZaDr stands for! .! I can't believe I never realized that! It's so awesome! XD)


	6. Soldier

Chapter Six: Soldier

Dib wandered around the small base one more time. The guys had said that this was only a safehouse, and that the larger base was somewhere else. They had told Dib their name and where everything was and everything, but now Dib just didn't bother to remember. Rin had stayed behind in the machine room of the base with a few other members. Dib wasn't too worried, he knew Rin could handle herself, she was a robot after all.

This group, whoever they were, had claimed they were against the Meekrob and the Irkens, and a few others that Dib hadn't known of. He didn't remember it all. He missed Zim, it was all he could think of. He was feeling extremely guilty leaving him all alone in there. But he had Skoodge and Gir there. He'd be alright.

Dib paused to look up at the sky through a broken window. The sky was a deep red this afternoon. No matter what, the sky always seemed to be red. Dib tried to remember what day it was. His heart skipped a beat when he finally remembered. Tomorrow would be his first Christmas with Zim. Well, not first, but the first_ civil _one. He wondered what Zim would do…Zim wasn't known for good holidays. On Thanksgiving while they were together, Zim did okay having a formal dinner with them and Gaz and Gir. Then on Halloween Dib and Zim both hid in the bowels of Zim's base, afraid of what might happen this year. But this was Christmas. Who knew what would happen.

At least Skoodge and Rin were here to make the holiday better. Dib started to head back to the others. Now would be the best time to go fetch Zim.

…

Zim woke up to the sound of metal grinding metal. He rose up grudgingly and looked around. Gir was rubbing his head harshly against the metal walls. "GIR!" Zim yelled hoarsely.

"Yes Master?" Gir asked lazily, not stopping his annoying action.

"Quit that," Zim ordered quietly. Gir stopped, then stood for a moment, then starting doing it again. Zim winced and got up to leave. "Hey…where's Dib…"

"He left…he still not back yet, he promised me a TACO!" Gir shrieked.

"Well…where's Skoodge then…" Zim asked meekly, not caring about the other Irken, merely wanting to exact more revenge. Gir shrugged and seemed to tune Zim out.

The rest of the ship seemed empty, probably because of how big it was. Zim tried to imagine what the ship would be like with Dib in it. Geez, Zim wouldn't even see the ship…not with Dib around. "Hey, Zim, you're up," Skoodge said, coming down the hallway.

Zim turned and glared at him, noticing for the first time how much taller he was now. He towered over Skoodge. "Yeah," he said simply. "Why isn't Dib back yet?"

Skoodge seemed to be frazzled, his shirt was a little more stained than usual, it looked like oil. Skoodge was also looking around awkwardly. "He uh…I don't really know…" Skoodge admitted.

"How long has he been gone?" Zim asked, getting mad that Skoodge was still so useless.

"…" Skoodge didn't respond, he just played with the machinery tool in his hand.

"Skoodge," Zim said sternly, "Tell me."

"Five hours…" Skoodge said under his breath. Zim's eyes widened as he stared at him in shock. Five hours? That was way too long to be scouting.

"Five hours? Skoodge, we need to go look for him!" Zim yelled, doubling over in a coughing fit after.

"No, you aren't going anywhere. Dib said so," Skoodge commanded, standing as tall as he could. Zim, still bent over, squinted at Skoodge. Skoodge peered back at the tool in his hand and tried to pretend he didn't just stand up to Zim.

"Skoodge…"

"Yeah?"

"You're stupid…" Zim wondered what they should do. "Do you have a disguise?"

"No," Skoodge said, finding his tool very interesting.

"You get some sort of transport ready, I'll make your disguise," Zim said, briskly striding away.

"I already," Skoodge looked up just as Zim rounded the corner, "…did." Skoodge stood in the hallway staring at where Zim had been. How did Dib deal with this all the time?

…

The machines and Irken tech hummed in the background. Gaz finished the last of her calls and decided to make one more before leaving. She typed the number into the panel and waited.

"GAZZY!" Gir shrieked happily.

"Calm down Gir!" Gaz ordered, "Someone over there might hear you."

"Yaaaaaaaay!" Gaz whispered excitedly.

"Has Dib come back yet?" Gaz asked, wondering whether Gir would actually know or not.

"Uhhhhh, no! He still out with the taco! They's flyin' over the moon!" Gir chirped. Gaz took it to mean Dib was still out.

"Okay Gir, trace this call and come to my ship. Immediately," Gaz ordered. She didn't think she could last any longer without Gir at her side. Sure, she now had more power than anyone else in the universe, but it meant nothing without her little trash-heap around. Who else would play video games with her?

"Mistress Gaz, have you finished with the phone yet?" One of the Irken tech managers asked. Gaz glared at him for interrupting her thoughts. He was one of the Taller Irkens, still shorter than her though. Shorter than Zim even. He had big green eyes that looked neon compared to his skin. His uniform collar rose halfway up his face. His antennae were lowered so far out of fear that he seemed to not have any. So far, Gaz hated all the Irkens she encountered, they all seemed to be meek and obeying. Normally that was good, excellent. But after being around Zim so much, she expected much more out of this race. They all seemed like vermin.

"Eh…" The techie shivered nervously. "The Tallest are calling for a meeting with you, great mistress."

Gaz nodded and got up. The techie cowered and ran away. Stupid Irken. These beings didn't seem worthy of being around Gaz. Not even The Tallest that she now worked with.

…

Zim looked up from his work. Gir's strange noises of annoying disturbance were gone. He shrugged, he probably found something less noisy to do. Zim held up the small clip he made, it was the perfect disguise. Well, not as perfect as his own, but the handiwork was still amazing. He got up to find Skoodge.

Skoodge was flipping through the TV channels, numerous Christmas programs running and spreading their intoxicating fumes of supposed joy. It made Zim want to throw up…well, being sick made him want to do that, but Christmas was just as toxic.

Skoodge finally noticed Zim standing there and clicked the TV off. "Why aren't you working on transport, Skoodge?" Zim asked venomously.

"Um, because I finished it…" Skoodge said awkwardly. He didn't want to piss Zim off right now. Well, he never did, but especially not now.

"Good," Zim said, beaming with the thought of being ahead of time. Zim sat on the couch and handed Skoodge the clip he made while pulling his own from his pocket. "Here, it's a holographic disguise."

Skoodge took it in his hands and seemed to marvel at it. Yes, marvel you idiot, Zim thought. Despite how mad he was at Skoodge, he still worked hard on the piece of technology. Skoodge stood and put it on, flipping the switch. A holograph covered him and redid his appearance. Zim snickered into his hand. He'd worked so hard on the piece, but he still had revenge to think of too.

Skoodge looked at himself and didn't see too many differences…until he looked into a mirror. "Zim…why do I look like an elf?" Skoodge asked. Sure, he'd changed color to something peachy, not ivory like Zim, but something normal. But still, Skoodge didn't see the reason for the red hat and curved up ears.

"What? I thought you liked Christmas?" Zim said between laughs.

Skoodge sighed, it wasn't a big deal. Plus Zim was actually enjoying himself. Whatever, Skoodge was sure he could bear Zim's tormenting laughing for a while. "Come on, let's get out of here," Skoodge said. Zim stood up and did his own holograph. Zim looked like his normal human self, with some big differences.

Irken bodies are designed so that illness is never seen. Zim looked normal and like himself, but now with his disguise on, it was apparent how sick he was. Zim's normally ivory white skin was pale and deathly, with dark rings under his eyes. Even his posture seemed bad. Skoodge winced and hoped Zim didn't really plan on searching for Dib right now. "Come Skoodge," Zim said, oblivious to the pained look Skoodge was sending as he strode past. Skoodge sighed again and followed along.

…

Dib had managed to talk the team into bringing Zim into their group. They were still undecided about Skoodge, but Dib was sure he could stand his own. Skoodge had been stalking them for years anyway. Rin and Dib led the way, Dib was excited about seeing Zim again. He would apologize for acting the way he had and ask Zim for forgiveness.

They rounded the corner of a building and Dib looked out, expecting to see the ship waiting for them. Instead they saw something completely horrible. "NO!" Dib yelled, taking off running. Rin, just as surprised, ran after him. The others stayed behind, unsure what to do. How could anyone survive the burning wreck of a ship that stood before them?

Dib reached the wreck and observed the damage. It seemed like a bomb or something highly explosive had breached the hull and ripped the ship in half. Most of the wreck was on fire, burning on gasoline. It didn't seem like it would explode now, but Dib wanted to be careful. He made his way under some huge pieces of metal and wood and crawled his way into the wreck. Rin called out to him but he couldn't hear her. He did hear her coming after him though. Whatever, he didn't care what she did right now. He had to find Zim.

…

"That was close…" Skoodge sighed. Steering the small vessel further away from their previous location.

Zim was still on his knees in his seat, peering out the window with his face pressed to the glass, trying to observe the ship. They were too far away to see it now though. But Skoodge wasn't going to mention it. "Who the hell sent that explosion on us?" Zim asked, squinting.

"…I…don't know," Skoodge lied. It was probably Gaz, but better that Zim hear that from Gaz herself. Skoodge didn't feel like being murdered while flying a ship today.

"We need to find Dib," Zim ordered coldly.

"I know," Skoodge sighed. Zim whipped around in his seat to face Skoodge directly.

"Turn this vessel around, right now Skoodge!" Zim yelled, barely having the energy for it.

"Zim…we just got bombed…we're not going back there," Skoodge told him.

Anger overtook Zim that moment as he reached hastily for the control. "NO, ZIM!" Skoodge yelled, trying to throw Zim off. He did his best not to crash while fending off the crazed Irken.

…

"ZIM!" Dib yelled through the mess.

"My radar isn't picking up any bodies, Dib," Rin called to him. Dib ignored her. Zim had to be in here somewhere. He had to be. Where else would he be? "He's not here, Dib, he's gone!"

Dib turned around to face Rin's worried face. The white bow on her head was dirty from the gasoline smoke and her white and yellow uniform was turning gray. "He is here Rin, he has to be!" Dib screamed in her face. Rin took hold of Dib's arms.

"We have to go, this place is dangerous. Please Dib, let's just go…" Rin pleaded. Dib shook her off and kept going, calling Zim's name all the while. "Dib, it's useless! He's not here! Trust me!"

Dib tried his best to ignore her, shaking off her words. But she was right…Zim wasn't here. He hadn't checked the whole ship yet, but her scanner had already proven correct before. He turned around to apologize. "Rin…you're right…" He looked up to see Rin smiling sadly, happy that Dib was believing her. Dib felt something on his face and reached up to touch it. He was crying. He dumbly thought back and realized he'd been crying this whole time. "Rin…let's go," He whispered.

Rin nodded and waited for Dib to walk back to her. They both hear a loud shriek, metal on metal. A huge metallic support beam came down and Dib watched in horror and it struck Rin right through her middle. She landed back in a pile with a thud. Dib rushed to her side, freaking out even more than he already was.

"RIN!" Dib cried, "NO!" He looked at the damage. He wasn't sure if a robot could handle this. Her middle and waist was severely damaged and a red-ish brown substance was leaking out quickly. "Oh god, Rin, don't go…don't do this…" Tears came even faster out of Dib now. Rin looked at him with a tired, lonely expression.

"Don't worry Dib…" She whispered, "You'll find him…"

"But…no. You…you can't die, not now!" He cried. He looked into her mechanical eyes and saw more than just technology in them, he saw life. And he couldn't let this life slip away. Not when so much was going wrong now. Not when he needed her.

"It's okay Dib, it's my time now…I have to go," She whispered tiredly, her eyes closing halfway. She seemed at peace, despite the pain that showed in her expression.

"It's not okay, Rin…it's not…I can't loose you, not like this…" Dib choked out. Rin raised a hand to Dib's face, wiping away a few tears.

"Dib…did I ever tell you…the name of the man…who made me," Rin said, struggling to speak now. Dib shook his head, closing his eyes and leaning into Rin's hand, wishing this wasn't happening. "His name was…Professor Membrane…"

Dib's eyes flew open as he stared at Rin in shock. He couldn't breath and simply stared at Rin. "My…my father…" Dib managed to whisper.

"Yes…he made me…to sing to you…" Rin said quietly. "You were just a little baby…without a mother…so I…sang you to sleep…" Dib cried even more now, so afraid of loosing Rin like this, she was practically his mother now, and he was loosing her.

"Please Rin…please mom…don't go…" Dib begged. He leaned in and hugged Rin, hoping the contact would make her stay. Rin wrapper her weak arms around Dib and held him.

"Goodnight…demon slayer, goodnight," Rin sang softly, "Now it's time…to close your tired eyes. There are devils to slay…and dragons to ride…if they see you coming…hell they better hide." Dib shook as he cried, Rin's voice was beautiful and it rang in his mind.

"Goodnight…goodnight…goodnight. Goodnight…my little slayer…goodnight," Rin sang with sincerity. "I won't tell you…there's nothing neath your bead. I won't tell you…that it's all in your head. This world of ours…is not as it seems. The monsters are real…but not in your dreams. Learn what you can…from the beasts you defeat…you'll need it…for some of the people you meet." Rin lessened her grasp on Dib and he could feel her slipping away.

"Goodnight…demon slayer…goodnight. Now it's time…to close your…tired eyes…there are devils…to slay…and dragons…to ride," Rin struggled to keep singing. As tired as she was, her voice sang perfectly. "If they…see you coming…hell they…better hide."

"Goodnight…goodnight…goodnight…" Rin sang, "Goodnight…my little slayer…goodnight." The room was suddenly eerily quiet. Dib hugged Rin tighter, even though he felt no pressure back. He tried to make her words stick and echo in his mind. He didn't ever want to forget her voice. It was so pure and so good, how could her voice leave. How could this be taken away from him.

He sat up and looked at Rin, she was beautiful. She had the most perfect, serene smile. Singing to him had truly made her happy. Dib took her white bow and shoved it in his pocket, in case he forgot about her, for even a moment.

Dib got up and started to wander around. There was just enough room to make it into the living room of the ship. It looked pretty bad. Dib noticed something bright yellow on the coffee table. It was a sticky note and in Gir's scribbly writing were the words 'Gaz called'. It even had contact info. Dib rushed to the TV/phone/whatever it was and entered the info into it's touch screen.

He sat on the coffee table and waited anxiously, tapping on the table and trying not to explode. If Gaz was okay then maybe not all was lost. "Yes," Came Gaz's voice. Dib looked up and stared at the screen. It really was her. And she was in one piece! She looked great and healthy. She even had Gir sitting on her lap. She looked happy, amused even.

"Gaz!" Dib yelled with relief, "You're okay!"

"Yes, of course I'm okay," She said, slightly annoyed. Dib ignored the edge in her voice. "What about Zim? And Skoodge, are they there?" Gaz asked, looking around the room.

"…no…" Dib said, looking down. He hadn't even given Skoodge a thought. "I think…I think they're…dead…" He said, his voice hollow and emotionless. He thought of Rin, all these people…dying for him.

Dib was looking down and so didn't notice the satisfied look on Gaz's face. "And you Dib, are you okay?"

"I…I don't know…" Dib said. He looked up at the screen at Gaz's worried face. If he'd been in a better state he would've seen how fake it was.

"I'm so sorry Dib. I'm sorry for all of this…I think it was The Tallest who did this…you know?" Gaz said. Dib nodded. "If I ever get the chance, Dib, I _will_ exact revenge for you, for them killing Zim." Dib nodded. He was too tired now to want revenge. But if Gaz was willing to help him, then he wasn't about to stop her. "I'm pretty sure Skoodge helped them out…I have information that says he was a spy for The Tallest."

"What?" Dib asked, looking up at her in shock. Skoodge was a traitor? He always seemed so loyal before now.

"Yes Dib…and I also have word that he escaped the wreckage, leaving Zim to die," Gaz said sadly.

Dib burned with anger inside. Now he knew what had happened. Gaz was right, there needed to be revenge. "Thanks Gaz," Dib said coldly, leaving the room to go back to the group of people still waiting for him.

As Dib left the room, Gaz grinned evilly, watching him leave.

…

"I love how well you did that," Tallest Red commented. Gaz waved him off.

"I'm probably the best liar on Earth, but you, whatever," Gaz said, she couldn't help but grin at them.

"Yeah, definitely!" Tallest Purple burst out. Both of them looked pleased at Gaz's work. And of course they were, Gaz had already convinced the two of them that they needed her, that for the good of Irk they needed her to right their plans. It was a basket full of lies, of course, but they believed her. The Irkens were so simple minded and honest that they believed anything she said these days. She had them eating out of her hand, metaphorically of course, she would never let them eat out of her hand.

Gaz knew that Zim wasn't dead, Skoodge either. But now she had full control over Dib. And Skoodge was mindless, so she had him as well. Zim, well, he was dying anyway, so what did it matter? She knew Zim could never be controlled, not even by her. But that little unauthorized punishment that the soldiers had used on Zim was working to her advantage.

Now the Meekrob, humans, and Irkens were all still warring. But she controlled all their movements. It was like playing a video game, really. Like playing with toy soldiers. One side would win, but you always won because both sides belonged to you. It was genius.

Tallest Purple offered her some Irken donuts. She was disgusted by it, but took it anyway, might as well make them happy for now. Soon they wouldn't feel anything at all. She grinned maniacally, her malice going unnoticed by the idiots she sat with.

"So…Princess Gaz, what should we do about this war?" Red asked, motioning out the window at Earth.

Gaz thought about how to answer. She hadn't really decided what she wanted to do with Earth yet. It's resources were always being used up and it had no strategically advanced points to it. And most of her armies were on Earth now. "Let's blow it up," Gaz said slowly.

Both Irkens cheered wildly. She grinned, they were so easy to please.

…

"I hate you…" Zim mumbled. Zim was strapped lightly to his seat as they flew. He had promised not to try and take control again, but Skoodge didn't trust him.

"I know, Zim," Skoodge sighed. They were making good progress on flying to the other side of the country.

"We still need to get Dib…" Zim said quietly, pouting now.

"Zim…we need to discuss this," Skoodge said slowly. He put the small vessel into idle as they floated in the air. He didn't worry about people seeing them, they were in the mountains now anyway.

"Yes, we do," Zim said angrily. He'd been trying to discuss it this whole time. "And we're flying the in the wrong direction."

"Zim…I'm pretty sure…that Dib's dead now," Skoodge told him quietly. There was a dead, eerie silence for a moment.

"…no…" Zim whispered.

"You need to face it…Dib's gone…we can't get him back now," Skoodge said, urging Zim to face reality.

"NO!" Zim yelled, pulling against the restraints. "HE'S NOT! HE CAN'T!"

"Zim…" Skoodge whispered, watching Zim fall apart. It was terrible. For as long as he'd known him, Skoodge always saw Zim as the strong leader who never felt soft emotions like love or sadness, only anger and pride. But now, right before him, Zim was hurting more than he could imagine. It was scary and touching at the same time.

Zim stopped moving and Skoodge could see the tears that Zim cried, which was strange, because Skoodge didn't know Zim _could_ cry. Zim's black, pointy hair covered his eyes as he hung his head low, as low as the restraints allowed. "Now what…?" Zim asked in a whisper. Skoodge shrugged. Zim always made the decisions for him, Zim was the leader…not Skoodge. It scared him to think that Zim wasn't leading him right now.

"We could…find someplace on Earth…someplace to hide," Skoodge suggested. Zim shrugged as a way of agreeing. Skoodge leaned over to untie Zim.

"Don't," Zim warned.

"W-why?" Skoodge asked.

"Because…" Zim whispered, "If you untied me right now," He looked up to glare straight into Skoodge's eyes and hissed his last words, "I'd kill you." Skoodge shivered. He'd never seen so much malice, grief and pain in a stare like Zim's right now. His tear filled eyes didn't stop glaring until after Skoodge started the vessel up again and was flying steadily. Zim slumped back and leaned his head on the window.

Skoodge watched him for a minute. This was going to be a long flight.

…

…

…

I don't have too much to say about this one. Sorry this one is a bit shorter than usual.

The song Rin sang was 'Goodnight Demon Slayer' by Voltaire. Which reminds me of Dib, hee hee. For most of the chapter I was listening to 'Almost Human' by Voltaire, which perfectly describes Zim, I think. :)

What do you guys think about Gaz? I thought she was getting too Mary-Sue with her actions. But I think she's still a bit Mary-Sue…darn it.

NNN, I almost cried writing Rin's scene. I bet if I re-read it I would cry. I had to take a break during that scene a calm down before I wrote the rest. :( Poor Dib's mommy. She not his mommy, but she is metaphorically, and we love metaphors on FF.N

:) As always, I love you guys so much for reviewing and favoriting me and everything. It makes little fluff clouds form in my head and makes me update faster. I think I might actually be getting the hang of this 'writing' thing people talk about.


	7. Unexpected

Chapter Seven: Unexpected

Zim watched snow falling from inside the small vessel. It was morning. More importantly than that, this was the worst Christmas ever. When Zim mentioned it earlier Skoodge agreed with him, and Skoodge loved Christmas. They were landed in some northern place on Earth, Zim hadn't bothered to see where they were, he only knew that there were humans here, and he didn't like it.

"Hey, Zim…why don't we go look around," Skoodge suggested. Zim wasn't strapped down anymore, he'd calmed down and didn't have the energy to kill Skoodge anymore.

"We don't because I don't like humans…" Zim grumbled. Skoodge was going to point out the hypocrisy in that, as Zim had loved a human, but decided against it. Best not to poke the bear.

Zim shivered suddenly and doubled-over in cold chills. Skoodge watched him and noticed how slick he was with sweat. He was getting steadily worse, and Skoodge was getting extremely worried now. "Zim…we should at least find someone who can help you…" Skoodge said softly, trying to convince Zim to leave the ship.

Zim started hacking and nearly coughed up a lung before responding. "No…I'm not going anywhere," Zim mumbled with as much hate in his voice as he could muster.

Skoodge sighed impatiently. "Look Zim, I care about you…I want you to be better…So let's go get you better, okay?"

"No…" Zim answered.

"It's what Dib would want…" Skoodge muttered. Zim sat still for a minute, thinking about that. Skoodge took advantage of the small moment. "Dib would want you to be healthy Zim. At least give him this. Let it be your gift to him." Skoodge didn't mention Christmas, although he really wanted to. He didn't want to anger Zim by saying that. But he couldn't help but say that last line.

Zim seemed to be thinking about that and right when Skoodge was sure Zim would brush off Skoodge's words and rant about something else, Zim opened the vessel door and stepped out.

_Good Lord Jashin, Zim actually listened to me!_ Skoodge thought in a panic. Zim was actually doing something that wasn't his own idea or want. Skoodge got out hurriedly and rushed to Zim's side before he could change his mind.

Zim and Skoodge carefully avoided stepping in the bigger piles of snow as they headed deeper into town. There were humans everywhere, Skoodge didn't know where to start looking. "Zim!" Someone called. Zim didn't bother to turn around. Skoodge turned and saw a disguised Irken. She was small and red-headed with silver eyes. She was about Skoodge's size, but more limber looking.

"Oh, my god! I can't believe you're here, this is such a coincidence!" She yelled, running towards them. She hugged Zim hard from behind making him wheeze.

"Hi…Inx…" Zim mumbled. Skoodge remembered her from when he was secretly living in Zim's basement. Inx let go and walked around to see Zim.

"Oh!" She yelped, seeing how down Zim looked. "What happened?" She asked. Zim looked off to the side and seemed to be ignoring her now.

"He's sick…" Skoodge said for him. Inx finally seemed to notice Skoodge and looked him over.

"Hey look, a hobbit," She teased. Skoodge brushed it off.

"Do you know someone around here who can help?" He asked impatiently, Zim's bad mood rubbing off on him. "Someone who knows Irkens?"

Inx looked up thoughtfully and a light seemed to come on in her head. "Yeah, actually. He helps out a lot with Mau. He's kinda…grumpy though…" Then she added in a whisper, "And he's human."

"Oh great," Zim groaned, still looking off the other way.

"On the other hand…" She said quietly, grinning a little. She took Zim's hand and led the two of them down the street. They passed several huge buildings that looked abandoned and finally, when Skoodge was starting to wonder about Inx, they came to a big white building. The front looked like it was completely glass. She led them in and into some kind of waiting room with glass doors. She put both her hands on Zim's chest and pushed him into a seat. With her hands still on him she ordered, "Stay here."

Zim glared at her and didn't say anything, she seemed to take that as consent as she led Skoodge out and left Zim by himself. He looked around, the room was pretty empty, nothing to mess with. Quite boring. He wondered vaguely why they were there, but didn't feel like remembering. Why did Inx have so much energy? Who knows. Didn't she mention Mau? Yes. Where is Mau? Zim looked around again. Yep, still no one else in the room.

Zim tried to spend his time thinking about anything else, anything other than what happened. His head was spinning and he kept loosing track of his thoughts. He could be…Dib couldn't. No…it must be a lie. Yes, Skoodge was lying. That's it. Skoodge lied, but why? Does it matter? Zim leaned back and leaned his head on the wall and closed his eyes.

Dib is still out there…somewhere. Zim just had to find him. Like that time that Dib was kidnapped by the FBI…or whoever that was. He really was gone, but when Zim got back, there Dib was, sitting on the couch. Maybe if Zim went home right now, Dib would be there on the couch again. He'd have to make something up to get Skoodge to let him go.

"Nice holograph…" Someone said. Zim thought back…he missed the sound of a door opening. He looked up. It was some old guy with a cane. He looked like one of the shaggier humans, definitely a drinker…or a drug abuser. He was unshaven and unkempt.

"Piss off," Zim mumbled, leaning back again, closing his eyes and hoping the stranger would leave him in peace.

"Nope," The human chirped unhappily. Zim groaned, but didn't move otherwise. "So…you just here to die, or get better?"

Zim raised his middle finger in the direction of the voice and ignored him.

"Ohhh, the finger, I'm so scared," The voice said. Zim felt his presence move and sit in the seat next to him. "I have a question, are you a spy?" The man asked sarcastically.

"Do you have nothing better to do than annoy people, stu-pid human?" Zim asked angrily.

"Not really," The man admitted. Zim turned his head the other way, away from the annoying human. "So, I've been told you lost a loved one…I didn't think Irkens _could_ love."

"Leave me alone…" Zim mumbled tiredly. He didn't have the energy to deal with this asshole.

"Ignoring your problems won't make them go away," The man pointed out. "I'm a problem, I won't go away if you ignore me…"

Zim growled but thought about how to respond. "What the hell does it matter what side I'm on? I hate all the sides…I'm on my own side," Zim stated. It was true, he hated the humans, hated the Irkens, hated the Meekrob and even the resistance. The man next to him made a low whistle.

"Nice decision, I think your side's winning," He said sarcastically, referencing Zim's current weakness.

"What am I supposed to do then?" Zim asked, getting steadily more pissed off at this person.

"Do whatever you have to, to survive," The man said easily.

"And that is?" Zim asked.

"Follow your heart?" The man suggested weakly. There was a long awkward silence in which neither of them spoke. "Okay. Irken. No heart. Fine, I don't know what you have to do…but you're suppose to."

"I'm defected…" Zim whispered. He didn't know what he needed, and he probably wouldn't. And how was he not surviving right now?

"Ah, I see. So you're more human than I thought," The man said. Zim opened his eyes and turned to look at the man, he was staring off in space, as if he were thinking of a way out of a difficult situation.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Zim asked gruffly.

"Nothing…" The man said, seeming to give up on Zim.

"What's your name?" Zim asked, curious to know who the hell this annoyance was.

"Gregory," He said, leaning back more.

Zim looked up at the ceiling and thought about their subject a few minutes. "What I need is to die…" Zim whispered.

"How come? Because you're in pain?" Gregory asked, "Because you can't decide what side you're on, so you're giving up?"

"Because there's no point to living anymore…" Zim told him. What point could there be when there was nothing left for Zim to care about now.

"Point?" Gregory asked, seeming to be riled up now. "Since when was there a point to begin with? There's no point to this war, there's no point to this damn hospital. There's no point to existing because we'll all die in the end. But we can't die."

"And why is that?" Zim asked, who was this man to object Zim's opinion.

"Because…those people that brought you here care about you…so you can't die," Gregory said quietly.

"That's it?" Zim asked with a laugh. "You think I care what they do? They liked Dib…and that's it…"

"Dib…it that the one that died?" Gregory asked, already knowing the answer. Zim grimaced and turned away again. "Look, everyone looses people, everyone dies…you just have to deal with it."

"I was gonna kill myself…a long time ago," Zim admitted, just wanting Gregory to shut the hell up, "Dib stopped me, Dib's the only reason I'm alive…."

Gregory and Zim sat in silence, absorbing the moment. "So Dib was the only thing you cared about…" Gregory observed. "Irkens typically only live to serve their masters. Just serve the Irken empire again," He suggested.

Zim laughed. "My Tallest have abandoned me…they think I'm dead right now…they sent me on a suicide mission and expected me to never make it."

"Then suck it up," Gregory said harshly, "Your lover's dead, you're dying, and your country left you. So what? Tragedies happen…you have to keep going anyway."

"Why?" Zim asked.

"Because the rest of the world isn't going to stop just because you have," Gregory told him sternly. Zim thought about that.

"I don't give a shit about the rest of the world," Zim mumbled.

"Fine, it'll kill you if you don't watch out for it."

"How…" Zim asked.

"How what? Be specific," Gregory said quietly.

"How do you keep going?" Zim asked. Gregory sat back and thought about that.

"Find something to hold onto…and let go of it," Gregory stated.

"What?" Zim looked over at Gregory in confusion. Let it go? Wait…let what go? Suddenly, the click of high heels could be heard down the hall. Zim sat up and looked at the door.

"There you are," The woman sighed. She was tall with black, bouncy hair and a stressed out expression. "You have a patient, you know."

"Duh," Gregory slurred, "He's right here." Gregory pointed to Zim. The woman looked at Zim and seemed to understand.

"Well, get to work, House," She instructed, clicking off with her heels.

"Who the hell was that?" Zim demanded.

"My boss, but who cares," Gregory, whose name was apparently also House, said uncommitted. Zim slumped down, he didn't ever want to get up. Not now or ever. He was too tired. He heard more people coming and saw Inx and Skoodge show up.

"Good, here's the parents," House grunted. Zim laughed, letting his eyes slip closed again. Skoodge looked worried, like usual, but so did Inx now, her usual calmness and energy gone. It might have worried Zim, and he might have asked what was wrong, but he was so exhausted, he just wanted to sleep and maybe try to glimpse Dib through the curtain the separates death and dreams.

…

Their encampment was just outside D.C. It had been a two weeks since the incident with Zim and Rin, but Dib hadn't had word from Gaz since then. Numbly, Dib went on, counting days, waiting. He had hurt people, even killed some. He didn't know if those people were good or bad, but his troop had cheered him on and celebrated. It didn't matter to him, Dib felt empty. This must have been how Zim felt about war, no wonder he never talked about it.

He also felt somewhat guilty. After raids, his men had sent various women to his tent at night. Dib accepted them, but it meant nothing to him, he barely remembered any of their faces let alone their names. Maybe Zim wouldn't have cared anyway.

As Dib continued to think, he went with a couple of men to the D.C. Hospital. One of their mean had been injured and now they were visiting him. Dib didn't pay any attention or say a word. Condolences from he wouldn't have mattered anyway. He just waited until he could go back to his tent and get drunk again.

On the way out they went slowly, or maybe Dib's mind was the slow one. He observed the clean white walls and glass panels, just praying Zim was near. That if he closed his eyes for a minute, Zim would be there when he looked up. But no, all he saw was white walls. Justas they were exiting, Dib thought he heard something, it sounded like angry yelling in the distance. For a moment, Dib suspected it was Zim, but he reminded himself that Zim was gone and not coming back.

…

"FILTHY HYUMAN! Get the hell off me!" Zim yelled at the nurse. He wasn't hoarse anymore and was pretty sure everyone in the building could hear him right now.

The nurse squeaked, then edged to the door and ran down the hallway. Zim stood by his roll-y bed thing, slightly out of breath after running the nurse off. He was gradually getting better, bit by bit. House was doing good, he wouldn't be happy about Zim's behavior though. He already had Zim wearing his holograph all the time, but he simply wouldn't allow for the humans to touch his pak. He didn't care if the woman was specialized in Irken technology, or even that she was only going to check Zim's stats with it.

As Zim heard the clicks of familiar heels, he started to feel self-conscious that he only had a flimsy white robe thing that seemed to Zim to be on backwards. It was way too revealing. Irken uniforms covered nearly all of the skin as was standard. Humans liked showing off their oddly colored skin way too much.

"What the hell?" The female asked, walking into Zim's room.

"She…woke me up…" Zim told her. The nurse had tried to touch Zim's pak while he was passed out, so out of years of paranoia, he had leapt out of bed away from her and started yelling without thinking about it. It seemed foolish now, when he looked back. But the humans were even more foolish.

"Yeah, Zim, well you can't just scare everyone away. We're only trying to help," the Dr. Woman said pleadingly.

"Then…" Zim tried to think of a witty comeback for that and failed. "I thought you guys specialized in Irkens…Lord Jashin, never touch an Irken's pak…that should be rule one…" Zim started to pace, energy building up.

"We're trying our best…your attitude's not helping," She snapped at him. Zim didn't like this woman, and he was pretty sure she didn't like him either. She folded her arms and watched Zim. "What's that pak thing for anyway?" She asked.

"Ask Skoodge…" Zim grunted.

"Are you even trying? Do you want to get better or not?" She asked.

Zim didn't answer, he didn't know the answer. He wasn't trying, and he wasn't too sure he wanted to be better either. He just wanted Dib.

The click of heels told him the woman left. Zim kept pacing. The tiny little room was making Zim stir crazy.

…

Skoodge didn't really like these humans. Human were okay normally, but these…they seemed so curious. And Irken training told him that was bad. Zim had tons of Irken training drilled in his head…no wonder he hated humans so much. Every Irken instinct and training bit seemed to point humans out as something bad and evil. Especially Christmas.

Inx sat next to Skoodge, but she didn't seem dislike the humans. Rather, she seemed like she wanted to help them. She was blessed not to have the training Zim and Skoodge had…Skoodge was blessed not to have the training Zim had. They sat in silence for a while, watching the humans work.

"Hey, Inx…where'd you come from anyway?" Skoodge asked. Inx blushed and looked away for a moment.

"I…I was born…naturally," She admitted.

"Naturally?" Skoodge asked, "That doesn't happen often."

"Yeah…my mother died because of it…and my father was dead before my birth…" Inx told him, "He was killed in battle. Kei knew my mother and rescued me before the Empire could find me."

"Wow," Skoodge sighed. That was incredible. Inx seemed completely normal for an Irken, her eyes were an extremely rare color…but Skoodge had assumed that was done surgically somehow. But hearing her story, blue-gray eyes for a naturally born smeet seems somewhat normal.

"Yeah…I grew up on all sorts of planets. I never once knew the ways of Irkens…only how paranoid Kei seemed to get sometimes…" Inx said, voice trailing off as she submerged herself in memory.

"Zim and I are much older than you, I think…I'm glad there's _someone_ who didn't have to be a part of the Empire," Skoodge said quietly.

"Yeah…" She whispered, "But now with this war…I just wish we could reach peace…where no one's fighting…not even the Irkens…"

"Maybe we can," Skoodge said optimistically, "You never know how things will come out."

…

Zim sat in bed again, waiting. The blonde male was supposed to be here. House told Zim to 'play nice', whatever that meant. Finally, after a long wait, a blonde male in a suit came and sat in the chair next to Zim. "Hi there, I'm Chase," The blonde said, extending a hand for what they called a hand-shake. Zim glared, refusing to move. He cleared his throat and put his hand down, seeing Zim's burning hate. "So, I'm supposed to stay here with you a while, how about that, huh? Sounds like fun," He said, as though Zim were a child. Zim glared, out of all his tormentors, none of them treated him like a child before.

The human squirmed awkwardly, Zim imagined him dying under his gaze. Burning and screaming…yes, this did sound like fun now. "You've been on Earth for a while now, anything you like about it?" The blonde one asked. Zim picked up on his odd accent, it was different than a normal human accent, but the vowels sounded lazier somehow.

"Absolutely nothing," Zim answered, finally speaking. The human seemed surprised, but not shocked.

"Really? Not even…ice cream?" He asked, as though that would appeal to Zim's apparently child-like wonder.

"_Especially_ not that…" Zim grunted, crossing his arms and trying to stare the human to death.

"Oh…" The human mumbled. "Well, there's got to be _something_ you like here."

There used to be something, or rather, someone. But Zim wasn't going to benefit the human with that knowledge. "Nope."

The human fidgeted a little more, all the while enduring Zim's death glare. Mr. Blonde human with strange accent finally started to examine Zim with his eyes. Zim could see his eyes tracing along the long scars on Zim's arms.

"Where are all those from?" The blonde human asked, gently touching Zim's skin. Zim shuddered as he remembered the last time he'd been asked that. The human, Chase, seemed worried about Zim's reaction. "You don't have to tell me though," He said quietly, misinterpreting Zim's discomfort. Zim was going to tell him, but if the humans was going to let the subject drop, then why not.

"Your hair is longer than is typical for human males," Zim pointed out, the length of it had been bothering him. Chase merely laughed and brushed his hair away from his face.

"And you're very straightforward," Chase countered, grinning at Zim with strange eyes.

"Of course," Zim huffed.

"Say, can I-" Chase extended his hand towards Zim's back.

"No." Zim jerked away and glared daggers at Chase. Not even Dib had tried to touch his pak before. Well…maybe sometimes in bed. But this was a filthy inferior hyuman!

"Okay, okay," Chase said, taking is hands and putting them in the air in submission. Zim kept glaring, but Chase still didn't seem to notice. "Changing the subject," Chase sighed, "Aren't you a bit…young to be in a war?"

"Irkens prepare for war since birth. Most sent out to fight at ten…Irk years anyway," Zim told him, if anything, he said it to repulse Chase and make him leave him alone. But Chase seemed interested.

"And how old are you?" Chase asked, his brow furrowed in deep thought.

"17…Irk years," Zim said awkwardly. It was so foreign and…wrong to be telling this low human all this information. But maybe he really honestly wanted to help. Then again, how long had it taken Dib to get this much info from Zim?

"How many earth years?" Chase asked.

"…167…" Zim said, looking the other way. He heard Chase blow out a big breath and lean back.

"Is that old for Irkens?" Chase asked.

"Pfff, no," Zim answered, also starting to wonder what 'old' was for Irkens. "About average. We can live a lot longer, but most tend not to."

"…because of war?" Chase guessed. Zim gave the smallest of nods. Silence stretched into an awkward silence. Zim started to count stripes on the wall. He hoped Chase would forget his duties here and leave. "Can I see you?"

"What?" Zim turned to see Chase staring at him. Zim's thoughts led him somewhere perverted and he was about to call a nurse or someone to help when Chase explained.

"I've never seen an actual Irken…or any alien. Can I see you without the holograph?" Chase asked, extreme seriousness lining his face.

Zim let out a harsh bark of a laugh. "Stupid human, why would I let you see my glory? You won't ever see-"

Chase ripped Zim's projector in half as he told it from Zim's neck. Zim promptly returned to green, hairless and red-eyed. His hands even went back to being three-fingered. Zim's eyes widened as he held the bits and pieces of his holograph projector.

"You FILTHY IDIOTIC EXCUSE FOR A LIVING CREATURE!" Zim yelled manically, examining the fragile remains closely. Zim sighed heavily, Gaz had fixed this, all that time ago. And she had done it in a way that was completely foreign to Zim. It was now broken forever and Zim would have to borrow Skoodge's if he was to make another one. But all his tolls were back on the ship…the one that had exploded. Zim sighed again, it was hopeless.

Finally he glanced over at Chase again. He was staring at Zim, mouth agape, seeming to be mystified. "Yes, I'm green. Amazing, I know," Zim said, wanting the human to stop.

"Wow," Chase finally breathed out, "And you have…" Chase pointed at Zim's head.

"Antennae, yes…I know," Zim grunted, turning back to the broken equipment. "Flirk…this must be like, the third time…" Zim sighed. He tried to piece it back together with his hands and failed. "Asshole…" Zim hissed.

"S-Sorry…" Chase mumbled, scooting back a bit. Zim ignored him and tried to think of ways to get tools. Skoodge perhaps?

Chase gradually eased himself out of the room, ignoring his duties given to him by the evil Doctor woman, whose name Zim had learned to be Cuddy.

"Zim…" Someone hissed from the doorway. Zim looked up and was pleased to see a familiar face. "I always did like you better without your disguise you know."

"Yeah, I know," Zim said easily, putting the bits of metal on the nightstand for the moment. The Irken female before him demanded all his attention. "How'd you get here, Kita?" Zim asked, gazing up at the perfection that was Kit. She had a soft, light green glow, lighting up her deep, royal purple eyes. Her antennae here curly at the ends and were always swept back. Her posture was as wonderful as ever. Straight as a pin, like a professional soldier. Her pink and orange flowing uniform that of a teacher.

Kita came a little closer to him, her eyes reflecting the soft light in the room. "I found a way, when I found out my favorite little Invader was in trouble, I flew over as soon as I could," She said, pouting a little at Zim's misfortune. Zim winced at being called little, but beamed because he was her favorite. And she called him an Invader, a bonus.

"I didn't think I'd ever see you again, Kita," Zim admitted, blushing at his folly.

"I know, Zim, after what the Tallest did, I didn't think we meet again either," She said softly, gazing down at Zim with sad eyes. Kita was tall, not as tall as the Tallest of course, but enough that Zim admired her natural height.

"But you're here now, Kita, that's great," Zim said, beaming up at her. She smiled a little, even though it was a half smile and didn't quite reach her eyes. Zim didn't notice the sadness her expression held though. "But…now what should we do?" Zim asked.

"You need to get out of here, Zim, anyway you can," She whispered hastily, as thought someone might come in and take her away.

"Why?" Zim asked. Skoodge and Inx were here, making sure that everything was fine. Zim didn't see the trouble.

"Because, humans can't be trusted. You trusted one and just look what's happened," She nearly hissed. "And that Skoodge, he's a traitor. I bet he's plotting with those humans right now to kill you. And Inx, pfff, she's just waiting until she can do it herself." Zim gaped at her.

"R-Really, Kita?" Zim asked. Kita nodded sadly. "Thanks for telling me…" Zim said. Now he could be on the watch. Kita smiled slightly, seeming to be proud of Zim.

…

Skoodge and House stood outside Zim's room, watching him through the glass wall. "So, who's Kita?" House asked.

"A long time ago, she used to be one of our instructors," Skoodge explained.

"Yeah?" House asked, prompting Skoodge to go on.

"Well, she was the only one who was ever nice to Zim…I mean, all the other instructors were pretty harsh on him, because he was so small. But Kita felt sorry for Zim, and went easy on him…" Skoodge said quietly, remembering Kita from years ago.

"So, what happened?" House asked, not taking his eyes off Zim.

"Well…the Tallest got a lot of reports from the other instructors on Kita's behavior. They really didn't like how soft she appeared," Skoodge said. He fiddled with the hem of his uniform. "So…she was tried…"

"And?"

"The Tallest put her to death."

…

…

…

…

…

Gah! So dramatic! Any time I watch House it seems that the person hallucinates, so, what does Zim HAVE to do? Lawl. I meant for there to be more in this chapter. Oh well, more for later! I also meant for the scene with Chase to be a lot different…. but that just couldn't happen, so he gets freaked out and runs away instead. ^-^. I don't much like Chase.

Bleh, anyway. I hope you enjoyed and didn't hate it. Please don't strangle me! I will stay in by my computer side forever until this is fixed! Lawl. I love you all, and I thank you for your support!

Also, check out my sisters awesome Zim fanfic: Forsaken! By NikkiNaive! I don't know how to do links :( Or I would. But read it!


	8. Mad

Chapter Eight: Mad

"Hm," House continued, "And how long ago was Kita killed? And don't start off on that, 'oh I'm an alien and we're different'. How long in Earth time?"

"Uh," Skoodge had to think for a minute and convert, "I don't know exactly, but at least a hundred years ago, maybe more."

"Why's Zim hallucinating about her now?" House asked.

"I…I don't know," Skoodge whispered, he'd honestly forgotten about their old instructor. "I completely forgot her, I assumed Zim had too…"

"I seems like he'd be thinking about that Dib boy," House mused, still watching Zim as he talked to himself in his room.

"I worry about him…" Skoodge sighed.

…

Gaz stared out at the unusually gray skies. Irk was such a drab planet. Usually there wasn't much atmosphere, so you could see the stars day and night, but there were storm clouds all around tonight. Somehow, Gaz didn't find it annoying, or anything really. It was like her emotions had been cut off. So far, the only Irkens who showed much emotion around her had been Red and Purple. But they didn't matter anymore. They were just her mindless puppets.

No, the people she paid attention to now were the citizens of Irk. All of them were in the military, all of them were mindless and emotionless. She wondered how Zim got out of the whole thing. He was crazy. These Irkens were militant and obedient to the end. Gaz used to think that was what she wanted. But she had to have Gir come back because she missed his flawed design, letting in emotions that drones weren't made to have. She now missed Zim and his angry rantings, she missed Dib and his paranormal craziness. She missed Earth, her Earth.

She even missed her father, Professor Membrane. Maybe not as much as the others, but she never realized how much they all made up her world. Life wasn't just about video games, and she was discovering that a bit late. The plan was going to commence, Gaz just wondered about the horrible knot that laid in her stomach now.

Gaz's thoughts were interrupted by a horrible yelling. It didn't sound to be Irken either. She turned to see a pale human in torn shirts being wrestled to the ground by guards. "You'll all perish to the ground! All of you, because of HER!" The woman shrieked, pointing at Gaz. The guards didn't even bother to look, they didn't care about the rambling of their prisoner. Gaz took a collar and leash from Gir's head and walked over to the scene.

"I'll take care of this," Gaz said, waving off the guards.

"Of course, Mistress," The said in unison. They let the woman go and backed off. Gaz swiftly snapped the collar on the human's neck and kept firm hold on the chain before the young woman could run off.

"Dismissed," Gaz grunted, the soldiers ran off to report to their other duties. Gaz observed the woman who was panting below her. She looked up at Gaz with obvious disgust. She was about sixteen, the same as Gaz. She seemed to have had a rough time being in prison 'til now. She had dark brown hair and eyes and pale skin from being inside too long. "What's your name?" Gaz asked, sitting down next to the girl.

"…Nikki," She said hesitantly.

"Nikki, you were captured from Earth?" Gaz asked, glancing at her.

"Duh," Nikki hissed. Gaz glared at her, she would have no disobedience, although it was nice to see a human face for once.

"Tell me, what's up with the clothes?" Gaz asked. The skirts had all sorts of insane colors on them and her bodice was tight. Nikki grinned.

"I'm a gypsy," Nikki said proudly, "And I tell the future."

"If you can tell the future…how'd you get captured?" Gaz asked back. Nikki rolled her eyes and made a 'psshh,' sound. "If you can tell the future, then what's the future of Irk?"

"To blow away into dust and become a deserted pile of shit in space," Nikki said with a murderous gleam in her eye.

"Duh," Gaz said, imitating Nikki, who rolled her eyes again. "Then, what's _my_ future?" Gaz asked.

Nikki glared at Gaz. "Why would I tell _you_?" She asked with hate written all over her.

"I'll grant you freedom," Gaz offered in monotone. Nikki's eyes widened at that.

"Well, I also have a brother who was captured…it was kinda his fault though, his name is Zayn," Nikki said, starting to tell her story when Gaz hadn't asked for it.

"And?" Gaz asked, seeking the relevance. If she was asking for her brother to be freed as well then she was out of luck. Nikki looked off into space thoughtfully, she shrugged.

"Whatever. Like I said, his fault. What do you wanna know?" Nikki asked. Gaz raised an eyebrow at the girl's sudden betrayal, but figured she'd do the same anyway.

"Tell me, will I ever set foot on Earth again?" Gaz asked, unsure about the answer. She hadn't decided whether it was a good idea to see her troops again or not. Probably not, she didn't want to get caught up in anything.

Nikki closed her eyes in concentration and tilted her head skyward. "The great gods tell me…yes," She said, smiling as she said yes.

Gaz opened her mouth to say something rude but stopped. She looked out at the sky again, then back at Nikki. "How do I know you speak the truth?" Gaz asked.

"Do you trust gypsies?" Nikki asked.

Gaz grimaced at her, not giving her an answer quite yet. "What will happen to Dib and Zim?" Gaz asked, closing her eyes to the gypsy girl. She didn't trust her eyes to not show emotion.

"Who?"

"You're a gypsy, just tell me," Gaz barked.

"Okay, okay, jeez." Nikki paused and Gaz's heart flew to her throat in anticipation. "They will live for many years to come…and you will see them soon…all three of you together…" Nikki said slowly. Gaz turned to glare at her, hate covering her entire body.

"You asked if I trust gypsies," Gaz said, Nikki looked over, her eyes wide with excitement over being freed. She seemed to insanely happy, despite the hate on Gaz's face. She reminded Gaz of Keef, and that just didn't sit well. "I don't." Gaz called over a guard and handed him the chain leash. Nikki's face fell as she was dragged away.

"YOU LIAR!" Nikki screamed, "YOU FUCKING WHORE! LET ME GOOO!"

Gaz remained seated, looking out at the blurry gray sky. She had mentioned a brother, Zayn, she would have to find this brother and see if he too had powers to tell the future.

…

Skoodge ran as fast as he could, he had heard a scream come from down the hall and he didn't know what it was. As he approached he could see Inx against the wall with her hands against her mouth in horror. "Inx! What is it?" Skoodge asked, fearing the worst. With everything that had been going on, this had to be something so uncontrollably evil. Just downright bad.

Inx pointed downward and Skoodge's gaze fell on something small brown and floating in mid-air. "Mini-moose! I thought you exploded!" Skoodge burst out. Mini-moose squeaked and Skoodge laughed at Mini-moose's remark.

"What-What is that?" Inx asked in confusion and fear.

"It's just Mini-moose, a weapon Zim tried to make and couldn't figure out," Skoodge explained, letting Mini-moose rest on his shoulder. "I'm sorry I couldn't get you out buddy, Zim and I were in a rush…" Skoodge apologized. Mini-moose squeaked and even Inx laughed this time.

"He's really funny," Inx remarked, petting Mini-moose on the head.

"Yeah," Inx agreed.

…

Dib sat on a lonely bench in some deserted park. He'd learned a few things he should've already known. Like his group was called Red Dawn, he'd just been to out of it to absorb the information. He didn't really know which side they were on, but it didn't seem to matter. They had a boss, someone named Tobi, who gave them orders. Tonight they were splitting into two man groups to carry out a long list of orders.

Dib's teammate came striding up to him now. He sat on the bench, cocky and arrogant as usual. Dib found it slightly arousing, except for the long blonde hair and peachy cream skin. "Hey, there. Being depressing as usual?" The blonde asked.

Dib glared at him. The son of a bitch was extremely annoying, almost as annoying as Zim used to be. "Oh, come on. Just a joke," He said, seeming to back off. Dib suddenly remembered this man's name. Deidara.

"Deidara, go away," Dib grunted, having enough of him already.

"Oh, don't be like that, and call me Dei," Dei said. He took a piece of clay out of his pocket and fiddled with it. Dib got slightly more nervous. Dei was a bombing engineer, and clay was his specialty. Dei laugh, sensing Dib's nervousness. "Don't worry, only my saliva can ignite it." Dib remained tensed up, glancing at the clay every few seconds. "Seriously, and it's only _my_ saliva too. If you lick it, nothing happens, but if I do." Dei raised the clay to his mouth and Dib fell off the bench scrambling away. Dei laughed and put the clay down. Dib glared at him.

"You know," Dei went on, "You remind me of someone." Dei watched Dib get back on the bench.

"Oh really," Dib said automatically.

"Yeah, someone I used to work with…died in combat, he did," Dei said, still smiling and working with his bomb. Dib watched his face closely for any sign of grief, and saw none. Emotionless bastard. Dib watched him a little more closely now, being careful to only do it with strategic glances. Dei continued to ramble while Dib paid no attention.

Dei's eyes were a magnificent sky blue, and his mouth seemed to never stop moving. He had a headband around his forehead with a sweep of blonde hair going over it, covering his left eye entirely. Dib noticed how graceful Dei's hands were, molding the clay and shifting it around to form a bird.

"You could be an artist," Dib said absentmindedly. Dei looked over and finally realized Dib hadn't heard a single word. He didn't seem to mad about it though, considering Dib's uncalled for compliment.

"I already am," Dei boasted. Dib frowned and gazed at the highly explosive material.

"How is it art if it explodes?" Dib asked. Dei twitched and seemed to be trying to calm himself down for a moment.

"Because, baka, art is a bang!" Dei grinned wildly and crushed the clay bird in his hands before taking out some more clay.

"But…it explodes, it disappears, how is that art at all? Art is meant to endure the test of time beautifully and gracefully," Dib said, remembering art he used to look at when on trips with Gaz and their dad. How he missed those times. He could remember those times, so they were art. No one remembers a little explosion.

"No, I respect you as a teammate and fellow member of Red Dawn…" Dei said reasonably, "But art it something that blossoms for an instant before withering away."

"That's insane," Dib said, looking off at the trees. "Art should last forever. Eternal Beauty is the only true art." Dei looked at him strangely, as if he were remembering something.

"That's absurd!" Dei burst happily, "Art is beauty that lasts for just a moment!"

"You're insanely stubborn," Dib said, off-topic. He was getting bored with this argument. Dei seemed to sense that.

Dei smirked. "To me, the essense of true art is…" Dei liked his clay and threw it high in the air, "explosions!" The bomb went off, this time Dib didn't fall, he was somewhat expecting that to happen.

"How smooth," Dib mumbled, still frowning. Dei watched him.

"You know, you really remind me of that someone," Dei said, pulling out more clay. Dib rolled his eyes and wondered if this dumb blonde would ever stop talking.

…

Finally, something worth doing. Zim looked down on his inventions proudly. He'd found Mini-moose wandering around and remembered the codes to open the secret weapons, and more importantly, tools. On his lap, next to Mini-moose, was the projector, good as new. He slipped it around his neck and was happy when the holograph went back into place. Not that he liked wearing it, but now the humans didn't have an advantage over him. Only the idiot Chase had seen him, and Zim doubted he mattered much here anyway.

He let Mini-moose drift off nervously. Zim knew Mini-moose was watching out for Gir, poor paranoid miniature moose. Zim had always known how much Gir abused the thing with tea parties and games. He just never bothered to do anything about it. But now Gir was wherever Gir ever is. He had a tendency to disappear and reappear randomly. Zim never worried about it.

He flicked the news on, feeling better today than normal. There was something on there about a group called Red Dawn. An Asian woman stood before a barren park with a gigantic microphone. "Red Dawn has struck again, attacking unarmed citizens and officers of the law now, they've definitely made their mark in this new chaotic world." Zim watched, only slightly interested. It was typical on a planet with this much chaos and confusion for there to be groups like this, ones that boasted of doing the right thing when they were only adding coal to the fire that burned the world to the ground. It was somewhat amusing.

"The group seems to have broken up into teams now. We have information from a confidential source that reports that the individual groups are going after world leaders. Of course, Queen Gaz no longer resides on Earth itself, there are many other leaders whose deaths would benefit the Irken Empire." Zim chuckled, none of it mattered. The Irkens didn't even matter now, the world was in self-detonation mode. The leaders didn't matter to the Irkens, but it caused chaos for the humans and slowly, they would all die.

"The ducks fly at night," Someone hissed from the doorway. Zim stopped abruptly in his thougts and looked over. There was a messy mop of hair and brownish red eyes, similar to his own.

"Hey Mau," Zim said, grinning for the first time in a long time.

"Fly duck!" Mau whispered madly, motioning for Zim to come. Zim grabbed his pants and slipped them on as he made his way to the door.

"Zim is no duck," Zim protested softly. Mau was wearing his striped shirt and standard issue pants.

"Don't tell big moon that…" Mau whispered with a finger at his lips, shushing Zim. Zim grinned, he loved the insane. He wondered where Mau was leading Zim off to, but did it really matter? It was away from the humans.

…

Parks were never really Zim's thing. Bad things always happened at parks, past events proved that. But Mau seemed very satisfied to be perched up in a tree. Zim didn't even try to make it up there. He just sat up against it on the ground. The park didn't seem too bad. It seemed like the one that Asian woman was in on TV. It was barren and some stuff was even on fire.

Zim was glad they went out here. For once he felt alive, like he was finally awake. The grass beneath his bare feet felt rough and somehow really good. The air was crisp and clean with winter. How long had it been since Christmas? How long had Dib been dead? Zim tried to count the days, but it seemed impossible. Time escaped him now. It didn't matter. It was cold now, but Zim embraced the freezing air. It was waking him up. The sky was gray, which was a little unusual, but it was night now, so it wasn't that odd. What if it rained? What if it snowed? Zim tensed. He couldn't handle the rain or snow today.

"Mau? Is it going to snow?" Zim asked, looking straight up at Mau in the tree. Mau shook his head, but Zim didn't know how much to trust the crazy guy.

"What does snow become when it melts?" Mau asked, oddly calm.

"Freezing cold water molecules," Zim answered.

"No," Mau said, Zim looked up with irritation, Mau was grinning. "It becomes spring!"

Another stupid human thing, Zim decided, even though Mau was Irken, he was still crazy enough to enjoy Earth sayings. So was Skoodge. Zim's chest heated up with rage when he thought of Skoodge, the bastard. Sure, he was bringing Zim back to health and everything, but it was all his fault. Zim should've died back there where Dib was. Skoodge was a traitor, Kita even said so. And Kita was always right.

"Mau," Zim called, "Do you remember Kita?" He looked up to see Mau shake his head no. "Oh," He said. Mau must be younger than him.

"Zim…" Zim turned his head to see Kita slinking up to him. She seemed very happy. "I'm proud of you." Zim beamed, of course she was proud.

"I try," Zim said modestly. Kita sat next to him, drinking him in.

"You've gone away from Skoodge and the others?" She asked as though she didn't know.

"Yeah, of course I have," Zim said, he'd been avoiding them as much as someone confined to a bed could.

"You have to forget about him, Zim," Kita said, concern in her eyes.

"Forget him…who him?" Zim asked, peering at her.

"About Dib," Kita whispered. Zim watched as a human ran by. He didn't seem to notice Kita, a full-out Irken, he must have been side-tracked.

"But…" Zim didn't want to forget Dib.

"Dib is evil, he was only ever using you," Kita told him.

"R-Really?" Zim asked, eyes wide.

"Yes," Kita said. "He can't be trusted either. Remember your Irken rules, don't trust anyone, ever."

"Right," Zim said, nodding and hanging on to her every word.

"Dib is human and bad," Kita whispered. "Don't you remember when he betrayed you? You did nothing bad to him, and yet he gave you over to the humans. And then when you two were being chased by ghosts in that mansion. Dib just let you run off while he stayed in the safe zone. You could have been killed by ghosts and Dib let you run off." Zim nodded, he remembered it all. It all made sense. "Shh…" Kita said suddenly. She got an aggressive look and sat back a moment. Zim looked around and saw what she was worried about. There were a few humans about ten feet away near another tree. A crowd of females and one male. Not good.

"Mau," Zim hissed upward to Mau. Mau looked down silently. Zim pointed and he seemed to get the message. Zim got up and waited for Mau to come down. They started to suavely walk away when Mau turned full around and started running straight into the mob of people. "Hey!" Zim yelled. They were supposed to be going away from the humans, not towards them.

Mau stood in the center, staring at the humans, they stared right back at him. Zim reached over and grabbed Mau's arm. The humans were staring at Mau and didn't notice Zim. Zim didn't pay them much attention either. "Hey, I almost didn't recognize you!" The male human shouted. Zim looked up in horror, he recognized that voice. "How ya been?" The most annoying man in the world asked.

Zim groaned. "So so," He said. He believed that was a human way of putting off an answer. Jack shrugged, glancing at the women. Zim looked at them too and wished he hadn't looked. It was like the city all over again. Most of the women had huge hair and all of them were showing way too much skin. Cougars. Great. Jack Harkness, practically the devil himself along with Cougars all in the same day.

"Hey, where's Dib at?" Jack asked, looking around.

"Not here," Zim grunted. Jack seemed to catch on to Zim's bad mood and preceded to introduce the girls. Mau watched Jack carefully and seemed to be memorizing the girls names, which was good because Zim wasn't paying attention.

"So, you guys doing anything?" Jack asked. Zim had his jacket on and zipped up against the cold, so Jack didn't notice that Zim had the hospital smock thingy on.

"Not really," Zim answered, not in the mood to tell his whole story right now.

"Well, how about joining us," Jack suggested, a playful gleam in his eye.

"In what?" Zim asked suspiciously.

"Nothing bad. We're part of a specialized group from Torchwood Institute," Jack explained, "We're trying to take down Red Dawn right now. So how 'bout it. Give us a hand?"

Zim thought about that. He felt well enough. That idiot doctor was pretty good at his work. And he needed to be away from the traitorous Skoodge and Inx and that evil Doctor Cuddy woman. "Sure," Zim said with a shrug.

"You too?" Jack asked, looking at Mau. Mau nodded eagerly, enticed by the women.

"Great!" Jack beamed and shook Zim's hand, then Mau's. "Welcome to the group." The girls hugged them. Zim stood stiffly, trying not to vomit at their disgusting smells, but he didn't push them away. Now that he was going to work with them, he needed to keep them in a good mood. Their hugs, he knew, were some sort of welcoming ceremony. Jack stepped forward to hug as well, but Zim stepped back at that. No way was Jack getting in on it.

The girls screamed as they all heard something explode. It didn't sound like a big explosion, but it sounded nearby. "Probably a leftover bomb that got delayed, but it sounded too close, let's get out of here." The girls nodded in fear. Zim followed behind them and Mau behind him. He stayed near Mau, who had a tendency to get over excited about bombs. But he seemed preoccupied with staring at the women to care about finding bombs.

…

The tiny apartment was crammed with all of them in it. The apartment consisted of a kitchen, a bathroom, and what appeared to be a bedroom. Zim found it uncomfortable to be so close to all these humans. Mau, on the other hand, was thrilled with being near so many females. As they made their plans and plotted out where all the Red Dawn members would be, Jack kept coming near Zim. Zim would always move away, but sometimes it was hard to get away. Instead, Zim focused on the members. They didn't know all their names, but they knew at least on persons name on each two-man team. Team one- Dei and Unknown. Team Two- Hidan and Kakuzu. Team Three- Zetsu and Unknown. Team Four- Pein and Konan. Team Five- Tobi and Unknown. Team Six- Kisame and Unknown.

Six teams of two. Zim counted up the people in the apartment and realized that's exactly how many they had now. Jack had probably been in the park looking for two more team members. Well, he found the best possible.

The women all left after a while, Jack waved goodbye to them all. One was straggling and Mau made his way over to her. He whispered in her ear and she giggled. Zim didn't want to know what he said. "Hey Jack, I'll just take this one off your hands." Jack nodded an okay and glanced at Zim. Crap, Zim had no girl to go home with. They all had ignored Zim as much as he'd ignored them.

So much for that plan.

Now Jack was staring at Zim strangely. His eyes followed him and made playful arches with his eyebrows. It was creepy, like always, and Zim remembered the salty, languid taste of Jack's tongue in his mouth. As creepy as Jack was now, it was somewhat alluring as well. The way Jack wouldn't let Zim be in a room alone. Jack seemed to be taking charge of Zim, and where that would normally raise Zim into an enormous fit of rage, now it was…relaxing. Calming to know that if he failed, jack was there to lead. Zim was starting to enjoy Jack's presence, bit by bit.

Finally, the last cougar left, being waved off by Jack. He turned back to Zim with a grin, Zim was sitting at the small round table in the kitchen. Suddenly, the room was much less crowded, and Zim found it easy to breath. He and Jack were alone. "Finally, I thought they'd never leave," Jack sighed. He went to the fridge and dug around as Zim thought about that. Curiosity suddenly hit him.

"Why do you hang around those cougars, anyway?" Zim asked innocently, just wondering why. Jack dropped something harshly in the fridge and stood to stare at Zim for a moment before bursting out laughing. "What?" Zim asked angrily.

"Nothing…just…Zim, they're twenty and twenty-one!" Jack cried out, clutching his sides in laughter.

"So!" Zim said, crossing his arms. No one told him age had to do with it.

"N-Nevermind…" Jack said, returning to the fridge with a smile. "Your Irken friend seemed happy to see them."

"Yeah well, he's insane," Zim scoffed.

"Zim, be nice," Jack scolded, "Just because you have different tastes…" He trailed off as he examined a carton of milk.

"No, seriously," Zim mumbled, "He's clinically…and criminally, insane." Jack looked at Zim with a smile and saw Zim's seriousness.

"Oh…well, I'm sure she's okay," Jack said, meaning the girl Mau had gone with. Zim shrugged, who knew what would happen. Zim didn't really care. "So…where is Dib…_really_?" Jack asked, not moving from the fridge.

Zim stiffened and didn't move. He stared at the wooden table, taking in the individual grains, wondering why humans made tables out of trees. Irken tables were much better for certain. "Zim?" Of course, then, everything Irken was better than what humans made. "Zim?" Especially when it came to mechanics, Irken technology was light-years beyond humans.

Jack straightened and looked straight at Zim who was staring at the table without expression. "Zim?" He echoed again more strongly. Zim didn't respond, simply staring at the table, lost in thought. Jack pulled something from the fridge and sat at the table across from Zim. "Here," He said, giving Zim a can. Zim read it: _Poop Cola, Now With Alcohol!_

"Poop Cola?" Zim implored suspiciously.

"Yeah," Jack said, seeming to be uplifted. "It's actually a really nifty little invention. The chemicals used to make it are devised so that all species across the universe can drink it." Zim started to tune Jack out as he opened the can and took a swig. "It just started selling in the Irken Empire a few years back actually. Otherwise it's sold all around the universe."

"Really," Zim said blandly, automatically.

"Yeah," Jack said excitedly. "I remember the first sale of it. Way back when…" Jack trailed off and laughed a bit. "You'll never believe how old I am," Jack said.

"Really?" Zim said, his attention was at least half caught.

"Uh-huh," Jack looked at Zim as though he were half-asleep and having a good dream. Zim wondered what that dream was, world conquest maybe?

"Why's that?" Zim asked, getting more curious.

"I have a secret," Jack whispered, leaning onto the table. Zim leaned closer, as though that would prod Jack into talking. "I can't die."

Zim stared at Jack in shock. "No…" Zim whispered.

Jack grinned. "Yeah," He whispered back. Zim narrowed his eyes at Jack.

"Prove it," Zim grunted. He didn't trust anyone who claimed to be immortal.

Jack shrugged and reached down to his boot and whipped out a big knife. The mere sight of it had Zim's heart pounding in excitement. Blood shed was always a cause for happy squish feelings of joy. "You sure you can handle this?" Jack asked, his head cocked to the side.

"I'm Irken, for Jashin's sake, just do it," Zim said quickly, adrenaline rushing through his veins.

Jack grinned and stabbed the knife straight through his palm, red blood gushing onto the table. Zim gasped with happiness. He hadn't lied about doing it, anyway, and there was plenty of spilled blood to be joyous about. Jack's face showed pain and anguish, sure, but mild satisfaction too. He slowly dragged the knife back out of his hand, Zim enjoying every painful moment of it. Jack slammed the knife onto the table and shoved his hand at Zim for inspection. Zim held Jack's bloodied hand in both of his and looked at the maimed incision. Only…it wasn't maimed. There was blood, but no wound. Zim got angry.

"Where the hell is the wound?" Zim asked, hoisting the hand up to see it all over. Jack chuckled.

"I told you, I don't die…it healed," Jack explained, watching Zim look over his hand viciously. Suddenly the hand came to life and flipped in Zim's hand, interlocking their fingers together. Zim grew hot inside and looked at Jack's amused expression. Zim let their clasped hands rest on the table as he picked up the beer again.

"How did that come to be?" Zim asked.

"Long story," Jack said, not wanting to spend time on the subject, maybe growing bored with it. Zim shrugged, he didn't care much anyway. He let his antenna pick up the scent of Jack's blood. A smile twitched on his face for the first time since meeting Jack that night. Delicious. "What isn't a long story though, is that I actually started the Poop Cola business, about two centuries ago," Jack said proudly, rubbing Zim's hand gently.

"It tastes like shit," Zim said bluntly, setting it down. Jack frowned slightly, then smiled again.

"Yeah, but it doesn't burn does it," He said optimistically. Zim shrugged, how were they still on the Poop Cola subject? "Anyway, Zim…about Dib?"

Zim froze, completely motionless, not even a twitch of the antennae.

"He's gone…isn't he…?" Jack asked quietly, gently probing Zim. He rubbed Zim's hand gently, in an almost therapeutic manner. It seemed to liven Zim up at least a little. Zim nodded numbly, barely moving at all. But Jack caught it. Zim's eyes were downcast and Jack gazed into them intently, searching his red-brown eyes for anything to go on here.

"…You know…if we remember people, they're never really gone," Jack said softly.

"He's gone…" Zim whispered almost inaudibly. Jack just didn't understand, he couldn't die, he didn't know what it was like to loose your Dib… "…he was everything and he's gone…" Zim whispered. Why was he saying this, why was he telling Jack this? He looked at the table for an answer. Blood and beer, dammit. His two weaknesses. Jack knew them all along and played Zim. Zim started to get angry, but it died down. Maybe he needed this…he needed to realize the truth about Dib…he needed to face it.

"Zim…it's okay…" Jack consoled. He held Zim's hand in both of his and watched Zim carefully.

"Dib was…the only one…the only one I ever cared about…" Zim gasped. Why was it hard to breath all of a sudden? And why was his face wet? It didn't burn…

"I'm so sorry…" Jack whispered softly. Zim bowed his head lower. His chest ached and he couldn't stop shaking, but it wasn't like when he was sick…it felt like that time Zim though Dib was dead and he really wasn't, when he'd been in that limo with Gaz.

Irkens were built not to have all these feelings inside. All these squishy emotions things that drove Zim crazy. They make you dependent on something and then fate takes that something away. How did humans stand this all the time, all these things inside? Why was Zim feeling them? Oh yeah…he was broken…not an Irken anymore. He kept forgetting that somehow. Defective. How was he supposed to deal with this now? He did have Dib, and that was pretty good. If only Dib had let them stay on that vacation planet…if only Zim hadn't been watching the news that morning…if only Zim had had the courage to not follow his Tallest's' deadly orders. If only he hadn't gotten sick…if only Zim had gotten to Dib faster…all his failures leading up to one point that meant the end of his own very life.

_Dib was dead_.

Something inside Zim panicked, he picked up his can, empty. Now what? What was there to keep everything inside? He remembered that Jack was still holding his hand and watching the emotions flicker around in Zim's eyes. Zim looked at Jack's face. Jack was caring and kind, he'd come to find out. A total flirt and somewhat jerk. Most important of all…Jack couldn't die. Zim leaped out of the chair and rammed into Jack's lap, holding on more tightly to Jack's hand. He ignored the surprised look on Jack's face and persisted to shove his tongue, quite violently, into Jack's mouth. Zim steadied himself with his hand on Jack's shoulder. Jack eased his own other hand onto Zim's side. He didn't complain about the sudden kissing, but rather embraced it. Their hands became undone and Zim put his on Jack's other shoulder, pinning him to his chair. Jack's went to Zim's side as well, rubbing Zim lightly, his hands made their way to Zim's back, pressing Zim closer to Jack.

Zim didn't care at the moment how much it hurt his chest to be doing this. It was pushing the emotion down and out of the way, so they couldn't harm him. Jack seemed to enjoy it anyway. Zim leaned up and let Jack pant for a minute, he was immortal sure, but Zim bet he would still pass out from lack of air. After a minute Zim went back in, taking complete dominance. He was somewhat wrong about Jack, outwardly he seemed cocky and arrogant, but, unlike Dib, he was easily pushed over when intimate. It displeased Zim, but at least Jack was over pushy, that wouldn't have been easy.

Steam seemed to rise as they got hotter. After a while, Zim let Jack go panting again as he waited patiently. Jack grinned and pulled Zim's pelvis closer to his. Jack's eyes glanced very quickly at the bedroom door and Zim got the message. Usually Zim was blind to such subliminal messages, but not when it came to this particular subject.

Zim grinded his hips against Jack's, making him moan. When Jack's head leaned back, so open to attack, Zim went to Jack's neck, nipping it gently. Jack moaned more and seemed to like it. Zim bit down hard, blood seeping out and down Jack's chest. Jack groaned with pain and Zim liked it. Jack suddenly lifted Zim up into the air with him as he stood from the chair. Zim wrapped his legs around Jack's waist easily, Jack being much taller. Zim let the blood sizzle on his tongue deliciously for a moment before attacking Jack's mouth again. The human had been breathing long enough. Jack seemed a bit repulsed by the taste of his own blood, but he let it be. Another reason Zim preferred Dib, Dib wouldn't let something like that slide.

Slowly, Jack carried Zim away, being careful not to hit anything along the way. Zim worried the slightest bit about the white hospital thing, but figure Jack was too much of a pushover right now and too intoxicated by Zim to notice it tonight. Maybe tomorrow, but Zim would cross that bridge when it came…or burn the bridge down.

Just before they entered the bedroom, Jack turned it around to suckle Zim's neck and Zim watched the kitchen over Jack's shoulder. Kita stood in a corner, watching them with a grin. Zim wondered why Jack hadn't mentioned her being there. He also wondered why Kita seemed so happy, but he pushed it aside and simply grinned back at her, happy that she was happy, and continued with his little human puppet.

…

…

…

….

A/N:  
…hehehehehe. I lovez Jack…that was such an evil scene and probably the one I procrastinated on most, but it was so delishish. Yesh. And Kita, watching in the corner, she may be a hallucination but that's still creepy.

Jack and Zim forever! Not really! Don't murder me! I promise the next chapter will have more happy! And Keef, maybe. I like Keef, insane little bugger. Dei was in here ^-^. He's from Naruto, if you don't already know. And I stole some dialogue from an argument he and Sasori had, it was in the Japanese Anime version...I have no idea what episode. Ah well. The other Akatsuki were mentioned...but I don't think they'll get to come in :/ I'm just too lazy lawl.

Jack's a man-whore. So's Dib. Zim only goes for man-whores, it's his thing, lawl. Oh, by the way, the gypsy girl at the begining? That's my sister :D. She helped me with laundry...so I put her in here :) But she will have a point in the plot, I promise!


	9. Fortune

Chapter Nine:

Warning: Skip the chapter, shoot me now  
X| (mah getting' shot face)

Jack breathed heavily in his sleep, Zim noticed. They both lay in bed, Jack flat on his back and Zim on his side, watching him. Zim had been asleep, but Jack had tried to cuddle while sleeping and woke Zim up, for the rest of the night Zim stayed on his side of the bed, not touching Jack. Zim didn't regret their actions one bit, but that didn't mean he wanted Jack near him _all_ the time.

Zim observed the small bedroom, their clothes strewn all over the floor, Jack's blood staining the sheets. Zim hadn't been kind, he tore and bit and scratched, yet Jack still came at him. Jack had been valiant, but Zim was dominant.

"Morning," Jack mumbled, turning to Zim. He reached out to touch Zim, but a steady glare kept the unwanted hand away. "Rough night," Jack commented about the bed sheets.

Zim cuddled a deeply stained sheet to himself almost lovingly. "Yes," He agreed coldly.

Jack seemed to smile before sitting up. "You and Dib ever have so much dirty laundry?" Jack teased. Zim was instantly pulled back into his memory world.

Dib had always fought more, gone rougher. The human was good. Zim struggled to keep up most nights, so there was never any need for bloodshed. The thought had never even occurred to Zim's mind. He pulled the sheets up over his head. "…No…" He said quietly.

Stillness, then Zim felt the bed move as Jack got up. "Hey, where did I unintentionally bust you out of anyway?" Jack asked. Zim peeked out behind the covers to see jack holding up the white cotton Zim had been wearing.

Zim shrugged. "It's not important."

Jack frowned. "Zim, it _is_ important."

"I finished getting better, so it doesn't matter," Zim said. Why wouldn't Jack drop it? He was getting irritated now.

"Because what if you're not?" Jack asked, suddenly showing some backbone. Zim simply buried himself in the bed and ignored Jack, he was so tired now. Jack continued to rant and be angry as Zim tried to go back to sleep. Then it was blissfully quiet for a moment. "If you want breakfast, you'd better get it now rather than later," Jack called before slamming the door shut.

Zim's belly made groaning noises and Zim cursed. He didn't need food, but his body was so used to it's daily meals now. To stop would cause his 'spooch to bother him all day. And the Jack did say food was only now and not later. Curse him.

…

The stench of blood and sex stained Zim as he wandered around the lonely city. He'd eaten breakfast that morning and snuck out as well as he could, stealing one of Jack's shirts as he left. Zim was worn out from the night with Jack, even though it was already the next night. He'd spent the whole day wandering around and stealing food from random places. He wondered slightly if Mau was okay with all those women, but he seemed happy enough last night, so Zim didn't worry. If worse came to worse, Mau would just murder them all. And Zim had absolutely no problem with that.

"Maybe the humans really do need you?" That persistent voice beside him asked. He turned to Kita and shook his head. The thought had already occurred to him, and he didn't really think they needed him for Red Dawn. They were grown up, they could handle it. Or they'd all die, either way Zim didn't care. "What about Skoodge and Inx? Their Irken, maybe they care about you?" Kita suggested helpfully. Again, Zim shook his head.

"They're just traitors, remember Kita?" Zim said, "I can't be around them…" Kita grinned.

"What about Jack?" Kita asked, her face forming a tight frown. "You two seemed happy last night."

Zim sighed and watched her carefully. "I'm sorry, Kita…I hate Jack…but…I don't know." Kita still looked upset and wouldn't look at Zim. "Look, I didn't know you were there, and Jack didn't tell me you were there."

"But still," Kita pouted. Zim sighed again. He already knew there was no way to sway Kita's mind, she was much more stubborn than he remembered. "And Dib?" Kita asked, her now innocent face peering at Zim's in curiosity. Zim played with his projector around his neck and thought.

"He's dead," He whispered.

"What if he's not?" Kita asked. Chills went down Zim's spine.

"I…I don't know…" Zim said.

"He's bad, Zim," Kita said. Zim, shocked, stared at Kita. She was looking straight ahead as they walked, she seemed to have made up her mind.

"W-Why do you say that?" Zim asked.

"If he's alive, Zim, this means he left you alone. He left you alone in that ship to die…he tried to assassinate you," Kita reasoned. Hate boiled in Zim. He was right from the start, Dib was just like his father, a killer. Dib was no better than the man who tortured Zim for information and tore into his pak. No better, and probably worse.

"I think you're right…" Zim said. "How dare he betray me!" Kita grinned and continued walking.

…

"So it's confirmed?" Skoodge asked the manager of the ship. The uniformed official nodded. Inx hugged herself tighter. Skoodge felt sorry for her. Things were completely crazy now. Zim escaped, but that wasn't totally uncalled for, maybe even a little expected. But this…this was madness. "Queen" Gaz was allied with the Tallest now. And they now had confirmed that it was the Massive that sent the bomb on Skoodge and Zim. Gaz was committing traitorous crimes against Earth. She even had Earth slotted for complete annihilation. Skoodge just hoped they could find Zim before they left, he would so enjoy raiding the Massive to kill Gaz and the Tallest.

"Skoodge…" Inx whispered. "What's going to happen to us?" She stared up at Skoodge with her huge innocent gray eyes.

"We'll be okay," Skoodge told her, trying to be comforting. She looked away, not believing him. After staying in the new ship for a few hours, it was already apparent that everything would not be okay. So far, Skoodge had used his contacts to past allies to his advantage. One old friend scoring him a big ship and full crew to use as he wanted. Skoodge took it gladly. Through extensive research and hacking they'd found out how horrible Gaz really was and how she was betraying everything now. Honestly, Skoodge just wanted them all to be safe, Inx, him, and Zim. He didn't care about the rest of Earth.

"Sir," one of the soldiers grunted. Skoodge glanced over. "We found a human trying to sneak aboard."

"Where is he now?" Skoodge asked.

"In the holding cell, Sir."

"Dismissed." Skoodge glanced back at Inx, she didn't seem perturbed by the announcement. But Skoodge wondered who would try and board their ship. It was an unmarked vessel, landed right outside an abandoned city. It wasn't Irken or Earth-made, so he wondered what drew the human to it.

Skoodge wondered the whole walk down to the holding cell. Inx stayed at the bridge, in the same chair she'd been curled up in the whole day. Halfway down, Skoodge ran into Dr. House. He'd let him come aboard when they got the ship, he seemed like the most competent human doctor so far.

"What's up," House greeted, limping along side Skoodge. He seemed either bored or drunk, although he always did.

"I hear we've just acquired our first prisoner," Skoodge informed. House nodded, otherwise not changing his expression.

"Who ya think it is?" He asked.

"No idea."

"Who would try to sneak on an unmarked alien vessel?" House asked.

"Still…no idea."

"Zim, do you think?" House asked.

"I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"Zim wouldn't have gotten caught."

"Oh."

Neither spoke again the whole way down. Both were puzzled as to who would be so stupid as to come aboard. Finally they came to the holding cell. A long hallway with padded rooms, the hallways was slightly higher than the rooms, with steps leading to each door. All the rooms had a large window in the wall, letting anyone in the hall see into the room. All the walls and floors were white. Skoodge found the occupied room and stared in with shock.

The boy was definitely human. His black hair was wet from being in the rain and fell forward onto his face. His eyes were dark with hate and despair. He sat on the floor, slouched forward in anticipation. Skoodge knew this boy didn't care about whether he was captured or not, but he couldn't explain the darkness in his eyes. "So…who's this guy?" House asked uncaringly.

"…Dib…" Skoodge answered warily.

"You mean the alien's dead ex?" House asked.

"Yup."

"How's he here?"

"…no idea…" Skoodge whispered, watching Dib. He knew there was a chance Dib had survived, but in the big world they were on, he didn't think it was probable that they'd ever meet again. Apparently he was wrong. If only Zim were here to see this.

Skoodge unlocked the door and walked in. Dib's eyes lit on fire as he tried to jump at Skoodge, but a chain on his wrist tying him to the floor stopped him. "Dib…what the hell?" Skoodge asked. Dib was trying to get to Skoodge in a mad fury.

"I think he's mad at you," House whispered in a loud voice.

"I kinda got that," Skoodge mumbled.

"It's all your fault!" Dib yelled.

"What is?"

"ZIM! You killed him! You traitor!" Dib yelled. Skoodge raised an antenna.

"What?" Skoodge asked, crouching down to Dib's level. "Where'd you get that idea?"

"My sister, she told me everything, you bastard!" Dib yelled, still trying to claw at Skoodge. Skoodge sighed, so this was Gaz's doing, great. Now he had to undo more of her fabulous work.

House let out a harsh laugh. "Boy is he confused," House laughed, leaving Skoodge and Dib alone. Skoodge pulled an antenna, he had hoped House would stay to help.

…

Dib stared straight down at the white tiled floor. He couldn't believe it. Gaz…she couldn't be evil. Well…looking back, there had been a lot of signs. Gaz hated all life, and it made sense for her to want to rule the planet. But using that power to _protect_ Earth? Dib couldn't see that. Gaz manipulating him to get what she wanted…or more likely just for her own amusement. Yeah, that was Gaz. Now all Dib was confused about was what to do about it all. Skoodge suggested assassination, and dib assumed he already had a plan set up for it. Dib reasoned that was the best plan, but his ingrained role of 'big brother' just didn't want to go for that.

What would Zim do? Dib honestly had no idea. He loved Zim, but he was just so unpredictable. Skoodge hadn't once mentioned Zim, which wasn't odd, but Zim was all Dib could think about. It was like the Irken had invaded Dib's heart and mind and taken over.

Now Zim was gone and Dib would never have the chance to figure Zim out. He would never again hear Zim's short-tempered yelling or his sweet midnight purring. He would never see Zim's boasting grin or his rare sincere smile. Hate, pain and grief boiled up inside Dib's chest. He never knew he could feel such anger like this. And it was Gaz who'd caused all this, she took Zim away. She turned against everything they'd built, all their trust and protecting Earth.

"Dib…So are you in?" Skoodge asked.

"Yeah…on one condition…" Dib thought about it a little more, Skoodge shifting nervously. "I kill Gaz." Skoodge watched him gravely, but nodded. He'd come here to kill Skoodge, now he was after his own sister. What was this world coming to?

…

It was cold…very cold. That was almost all Zim could register now. It was cold and he was in some ally. The city was abandoned…he knew that because there were no people around. How he'd gotten to the city, he had no idea. He couldn't remember now. Something about Red Dawn surfaced in his mind, but he pushed it aside.

He carefully sidestepped a puddle. Maybe he shouldn't have left the hospital, at least there was food he didn't have to steal there. Or maybe he should've stayed with Jack instead of leaving as soon as Jack was unconscious. Zim knew it would take a day or two to recharge from all the blood he lost.

Should he feel sorry that Jack got so hurt? No, Jack asked for it, begged even. Jack was a spineless git, he deserved anything he got.

Dib flashed to Zim's mind. He looked around nervously, Kita usually showed up when he thought of Dib. But she was nowhere. Zim didn't know what to think anymore. He remembered loving Dib and he remembered a lot of hate. Quite a lot of hate. But the love parts felt so good. At least…Zim thought it was love. There was definitely a great deal of want for Dib. Lust. Was that all Zim wanted from Dib? He still felt pain at thinking of Dib. Dib was his life, what held him together.

So…maybe it was love after all…

Maybe not…

…

"Piggy!" Gir yelled from the floor. Gaz had let a human pig come aboard the ship to play with Gir. Gaz sat in one of the rolling computer chairs that every tech used. She had them all leave the surveillance room for the day so she and Gir could use it. Gir was in the middle of the circular room with his pink plastic table and his pig. Gir seemed so happy now and it made Gaz actually smile. Gir was one of her only good things now, him and annoying the Tallest, but even that was getting old.

A knock at the door made Gaz sigh and Gir shriek in horror. "Gir, get the door," Gaz ordered. She expected him to get up, forget, and go back to his business, but he actually answered the door. On the inside, she was proud of Gir. On the outside, she was completely cold and unfeeling.

The prison guard walked in, red eyes showing deep respect for Gaz, despite their difference in species. Behind her was a lanky, black-haired boy who appeared to be a prisoner. But he didn't have the eyes of a prisoner. Rather than afraid he seemed bored, looking everywhere except at Gaz. Gaz was slightly impressed. Most humans and Irkens alike were feeble in her presence. But this boy…his hazel eyes showed something she hadn't seen in a long time. Something that called deeply to her, a look that she used to see everyday and what she missed greatly: Defiance. She hated this boy immediately.

"Madam, the human you requested. Prisoner 315." Gaz returned her gaze to the guard.

"Yes," She said curtly, "Dismissed." The guard forced the human into the room and left. He still gazed at the walls, even at Gir and his pig, but not at Gaz. "Prisoner 315. Human. Gypsy. Zayn," Gaz said slowly, staring him in the eyes.

Zayn looked up when Gaz spoke his name. "Yes," He said, looking right at Gaz, and somehow looking through her, seeing something else.

"Zayn," he hissed seductively. Zayn grinned happily. "I hear you can tell the future." Zayn frowned and watched Gir. Gaz didn't know if he really could or not, but one look at his face said he could. "Tell my future," She ordered softly, gesturing to a chair next to her with her hand. He looked at her hand and grinned. She intended for Zayn to sit and for them to talk. But he took her hand and stared at her palm.

Palm reading. Gaz wasn't sure if this was what she wanted, but Zayn seemed to be truly concentrating on her hand. "Your life-line is broken and disjointed, you'll die young and unhappily," Zayn reported. Gaz frowned even more but didn't take her hand away. "Your heart-line is nonexistent, you love no one and nothing can bring forth subtle emotions from you." Gaz was still unhappy with Zayn's words, but let him be for some strange reason. Zayn closed his eyes and held Gaz's hand with both of his. "Great tragedy strikes the figures of your past. Without you, their center, there is nothing to hold. Now they die…"

"Shut the hell up," Gaz ordered. "I don't want to hear about them. Your gypsies only tell me about them. What about conquest? What about _my_ life?" Zayn opened his eyes and grinned at Gaz maliciously, staring straight through Gaz with that vacant expression.

"But Gazzy, darling," Zayn cooed, "They are your life." Gaz stood and slapped him. She noticed Zayn was short, about Zim's height.

"How dare you talk about things you don't know!" Gaz yelled Zayn started to laugh with his eyes closed. Gaz thought he might stop after a minute, but he keep laughing. He laughed so hard he doubled over clutching his stomach.

"You'll die! You'll all die! No matter what you do you'll die!" He yelled between laughs.

Gaz grew red in the face. "You're lying," She accused. Zayn stopped laughing immediately and stood straight up to look Gaz in the eye.

"Maybe I am," Zayn said with laughter in his eyes, though he wasn't smiling.

A deep guttural grow grew from inside of Gaz. Weren't any gypsies trustable anymore? She grabbed Zayn by the law and brought him within an inch of her face. "Shut the hell up, tell me the truth and tell me right now…Where is my brother?" Gaz asked gravely. It was all she wanted to know. She had expected to ask about conquest, about the fate of Earth, but for some reason…she was really worried about Dib…strange. She would have to be checked for diseases later.

Zayn smiled sweetly. "He's dead."

"Is that a lie?" Gaz asked.

"…perhaps," Zayn answered. Gaz slapped him again.

"If you don't tell me the correct answer now, I swear to Jashin I will slap the crap out of you! Where is my brother!" Gaz demanded. She heard Gir scramble behind her as the pig went across the room.

"He's aboard a ship…."

"Yeeeesss," Gaz said, she tightened her grip on Zayn, prompting more from him.

"He's in a safe place…" Zayn teased, his smile growing.

"Uh-huh." Gaz looked right into Zayn, trying to tear out the information with her eyes.

"He's perfectly fine…planning on killing you actually," Zayn said in a suddenly very talkative way. "So really, don't worry about him, not that you're worried at all, no no. It's just that it's the other one you should show worry for. The one I remind you of."

"What?" Gaz said breathlessly. Dib wanted to kill her? Well, that just meant he found out she was controlling him and that he cut the strings Gaz used to play with him. But Zim? Surely that's who he meant. "You mean Zim…why the hell should I worry about him?"

"Because he's hurt and wandering around-"

"No, I need motive to take action, idiot. It's not like I care about him," Gaz said quickly.

Zayn flashed a knowing grin, as thought he knew Gaz was lying just now. "Because, my dear, your fate is interlocked with his…you need him in your life just as much as he needs your brother…the three of you…your destinies lie together…forever intertwined, they cannot ever be separated." Gaz gazed at him levelly for a minute, decided whether to trust him on this or not.

"So to be happy…no, to be Queen, I need Zim?" Gaz asked carefully.

Zayn grinned evilly. "Yes, and if he is to be alive, I suggest you return to your birth land soon."

Gaz peered into his eyes deeply. The boy spoke the truth and she knew it. She threw him to the ground and strode out the door. She found the guard not far from the door. "Put the human into detainment until further notice," Gaz ordered.

"Yes ma'am," The soldier said, leaving to get Zayn. As Gaz left the hallway behind she could hear Zayn's insane laughter bouncing off the walls madly.

…

Jack woke up with a headache that day. Said headache was made worse by the realization that Zim had gotten away. _Great_. More work to do. And none of the girls were around today, great. Jack checked his e-mail to see that Rochelle, the most social one, had a party today and Jack had missed it because he was sleeping off something he did with an alien who was now gone. The day just couldn't get worse.

The party didn't seem like it would be over yet, so Jack got his jacket and rushed over to Rochelle's place. He was excited to see the girls and flirt with them. They were his world right now. He didn't imagine that anything would lift his spirits more than seeing his girls tonight.

Jack took a breath as he entered Rochelle's room with his eyes closed. "Evening Ladies," He greeted. The first thing he noticed was silence, the girls were never silent. The next thing he noticed was the smell of blood hanging in the air. He opened his eyes and was horrified. There was blood all over the room. It covered the floor, the walls, the couches. No one girl could be identified; all twenty of them were ripped apart beyond recognition now.

Jack looked around in a fury, thinking Red Dawn, hell, maybe even Zim, had done all of this. On one couch sat a blood-covered boy. Only he wasn't a boy, he was a green thing with rod-straight antennae, and cold-blooded, merciless eyes. He stared right at Jack. Jack thought it was Zim for a moment before he noticed the Irken's clothing. Mau.

Mau had done this.

Mau had killed these women.

Mau was the one pulling a bloody spork from behind him.

Mau was the second Irken to rip Jack apart with killing him.

And Mau was the one who sent shivers down Jack's spine with a simple glance.

…

A/N

…he he. I love Mau.

I hope you guys didn't shoot me _too_ much. I can't make any promises for the next chapter :/ cuz somehow my plans never follow through.

Thank you for the comments. 1337Kitsune, you scare me, you know? Please don't murder me. It's half-way fixed now ^-^' And don't worry, I have me some plans, good evil plans, I think they shall please you in their evilness XD I like the suggestions you made on chapter 7, I'm adding them in my list of possible evil plans :)

TheAwesomeTrio'sAwesomeAmerica: You have a long username! Thanks for your comments! And lawl, yeah, I like doing crossover stuff haha. I really like your suggestion, I will add it to my list of possible evil plans :D. And Jack's always been a man-whore, he just makes it look cool XD.

Thanks, I love all sooooo much!

(By the way, mah gettin shot face actually had those little pointy things that are on the comma and period keys, but FFN doesn't let those be on here :( )


	10. Awake

Chapter Ten: Awake

Darkness and warmth. So much dark. It was more than welcoming. Zim let himself curl up in the warmth and drift off into bliss. So warm and dark…yet so empty.

…

"Wake up, asshole," Someone said roughly from above. It was still warm, and relatively dark. Zim was tempted to just lay there and ignore whatever it was, but she pulled on his antenna, not hard, but it woke him up.

"What?" Zim growled, sitting up to see someone he never thought he'd see again. Her purple hair reflected the soft light almost violently. Her pose said she's beat the crap out of you if you misspoke. But her squinted eyes and pointed face held a mixture of boredom and concern. Memories began to surface and Zim couldn't make them stop. "G-Gaz?" Zim stuttered in shock.

"Don't look so surprised, I _am_ your Queen, you know," Gaz said easily. Zim could tell she no longer cared about the title of Queen.

"I don't answer to _Earth_ leaders," Zim said snidely, leaning back on his cot. Zim recognized the room as an infirmary room.

Gaz allowed herself to smirk for a moment. "I'm not just the Queen of earth anymore, Zim. The Tallest and I have teamed up. I even plan on taking over soon," Gaz said, finally letting someone in on her secret plan for domination.

"Really?" Zim asked. Gaz seemed mad that Zim wasn't more surprised. "About one Earth month…not bad," Zim said, thinking of other Invaders he knew.

"Excuse me, but I was here two days before I had the Tallests begging for my help," Gaz said angrily.

Zim shrugged and started to wonder if they were on the Massive. "Don't listen to her, Zim turned to see Kita on the other side of him.

"What?" Zim asked, wondering what Kita meant.

"What?" Gaz echoed in confusion.

"She's a betrayer, Zim. Remember how much the Tallest hurt you? She's on their side," Kita hissed frantically.

"But…she's Dib's sister…" Zim defended.

"They're both evil, both hurt you," Kita pleaded.

"Zim…who're you talking to?" Gaz asked curiously.

"To-"

"Don't Zim!" Kita yelled.

"Zim?"

"Kill her, Zim you have to!" Kita begged.

"But, Kita," Zim mumbled.

"Who's Kita?" Gaz asked suspiciously.

"She's-"

"Kill her!"

"She's…"

"Zim, tell me, who is it."

"She killed Dib! Kill her!"

"What the hell are you seeing, just tell me."

Zim pulled on his antennae and bowed his head between his legs with his eyes clenched shut. Both voices began to overlap until Zim couldn't tell them apart. He felt Gaz's hands on his shoulder, but Kita wouldn't touch him. How did either of them expect him to answer if they spoke at the same time?

Zim huddled tighter to himself and waited for them to leave. Kita left first, leaving Gaz at Zim's side. Gaz stood beside Zim for a long time, not touching him or talking. It was almost peaceful. Then Gaz left, and Zim was alone again. He laid back down and let that same warmth envelope him again.

…

For once in her life, Gaz felt like she had a real purpose, something outside her games and domination. When she left Zim, he was pretty freaked out. She guessed it was a hallucination. She would have to look up this Kita person. She dropped by her Special Ops medical team to let them know about it before heading back to her throne room. She hoped the team paid off, she'd had to scour the whole planets to find decent Irkens who were completely loyal to Gaz. If they were loyal to her _and_ the Tallest, that wouldn't cut it.

Everyone knew Zim was pretty much considered a criminal here, so Gaz hid him. He was pretty deep within the Massive, where no one would find him. Gaz wanted him safe, her future depended on it, but it felt like there was more to it. When Zim woke up and actually gave her backtalk…it lit something inside Gaz, something besides hate and boredom…

She stopped her thoughts cold before they could get too far. There was Gir, and that was all she needed. Her hands drifted to her slightly protruding belly. Surly it hadn't been long enough that she would be showing so much. But, then again, she reminded herself, Irkens did things a lot faster than humans.

She entered her room and was surprised to see that Gir wasn't the only one in there. "Hello, sweetie," Red called innocently. Purple was on the arm of Gaz's throne, eating donuts. He waved happily. Gaz inwardly groaned. Red was in her throne again. "I still don't know why you wanted this thing," Red said, patting the throne. The he pointed at Gir, "Or that." Gaz turned to see Gir sleeping on the floor. She scooped him up then sat on Red's lap. Red didn't seem to know whether to be happy or upset about it.

"It's a human thing," Gaz sighed. Irken's seemed to be emotionally retarded, only feeling primitive things like anger and want. Those were fine, it was when they felt the extremely primal feeling of lust that bothered her.

"You do too many human things," Purple blurted out.

"_Really_," Gaz said, snatching one of Purple's donuts.

"Hey!" Gaz ignored him and stroked Gir who started running in his sleep. She nearly smiled, Gir acted so much like a dog sometimes, except when in his dog suit, of course.

"I don't see why you won't take one of our SIR's," Red commented.

"Yeah, that thing looks like it was made of junk," Purple added. Gaz wanted to slap him so hard for being so stupid. They had apparently forgotten that they were the ones to make Gir, specially out of trash for Zim.

Gaz got up with Gir in her arms. "Let's discuss conquest," Gaz said, starting to pace in front of them. Both sighed tiredly, but Gaz wouldn't let them off that easily. She turned to face them directly, ready to announce her next move, the one she thought of just recently before picking up Zim.

…

"N…No one's…no one's ever…done that to me before," Jack whimpered helplessly. Mau leaned up and licked Jack's ear gently, sending shivers down Jack's spine. Why were they still together? Why was Jack letting Mau do what he wanted? Why were they now strolling down the roadside with ice cream? The other questions were answerable, but no the last one. Ice cream? Seriously?

"The moon does," Mau said senselessly, rubbing up against Jack.

"Sure it does," Jack muttered. Mau made mewling noises while licking his ice cream. Jack had to admit, it was pretty cute, especially because Mau looked like a short teenager. His cloaking device showed Mau as an average brown-headed, brown eyed, average height, teenager. But Jack knew there was more to it. He could still remember the fire-red, burning eyes from last night. He shivered, no one could make him feel that way. "You're one of a kind, Mau," Jack sighed.

"So are trash cans," Mau sighed in the same way. Jack thought he would say 'so are you'. He was miffed that Mau said trash cans instead.

"Actually…no, their not, they're mass produ-AAAAHHHH!" Jack held his bleeding arm for a moment before it healed. Mau continued licking his ice cream as though nothing happened, as if there wasn't a smear of red blood on his vanilla ice cream. "Y-you bit me," Jack whined. Mau shrugged and snuggled closer to Jack.

Jack sighed and threw an arm around Mau, drawing him even closer. He'd tried to run away several times, failing each time. He supposed it was finally time to settle down…with a mentally insane Irken who destroyed his mission and brutally murdered a whole group of his close friends. Well, no one's perfect.

…

Inx snuck into the computer tech's office and crawled under a desk. The buzz of computers and equipment helped to calm her down. Dib…Dib was alive! She couldn't believe it. And he picked the best time, she thought sarcastically, come back to life right when Zim chooses to go missing. She wondered where Zim was anyway and if he was okay. She didn't know him as well as Dib and Skoodge did, but she still looked up to him, sort of. He was like a big brother who was never around. She didn't know him, but she knew he had a good heart…somewhere beneath all the anger and confused emotions. He had quite the record wherever she went. All of her caretakers had talked about him or mentioned him, except for one they all thought he was amazing. She remembered when they talked about the blackouts, and how it was a huge leap or the resistance.

Inx knew Zim hadn't done it on purpose. He was completely loyal to the Tallest in every way, but he was somehow loyal to the resistance too. It was like he was balancing on top of a fence, throwing good and bad things on both sides. That was fine with Inx, Zim was still Zim, despite the Tallest.

Inx thought about the one caretaker she'd had that disliked Zim. She was a scary Irken, she housed so much hate for Zim despite being resistant to the Empire. She remembered the way her antennae would curl and uncurl rapidly when Zim was mentioned. It scared Inx so much. Her name was…Tak…maybe. Inx didn't know why she was in the resistance, she used to be in the Empire, and seemed to be dedicated to them. But she never asked her about it, no, never. Tak didn't even stay with Inx for very long, she got fed up with Inx's quietness, so she left without warning. Inx was pretty relieved when that happened. She wondered if Skoodge knew Tak…probably not.

…

Zim looked around the room anxiously. He knew something was wrong, something had to be wrong. There was a certain _feel_ to the room. Zim closed his eyes and tried to calm down, this was stupid. The whole thing was stupid.

"Am I stupid, Zim," Kita purred into his antenna.

"N…no," He said hesitantly.

"Good," She hissed.

"Zim…who're you talking to?" _He_ asked. Zim gasped and searched the room for him. There he was, leaning against the wall with the door ajar. His black hair and trench coat looked as dark and emo as ever. The soft, pulsing light of the room glinted off his glasses devilishly. There were a few bloodstains on his shirt and he had a new confident look in his eyes, as though he'd done something amazing…or horrible.

"Dib…you…you're dead…" Zim whispered in disbelief.

"I told you he's evil," Kita whispered to him. Zim kept his eyes locked on Dib who was smirking at Zim.

"Well, apparently I'm still alive," Dib said snidely. Zim couldn't recognize that smug attitude Dib was wearing now…something was wrong.

"Dib…why are you here?" Zim asked quietly, trying to understand why Dib was like this.

"Isn't it obvious?" Dib asked, cocking his head and donning a small grin.

"…No…that's why I asked," Zim said, antennae flattening back, he struggled not to get mad.

"Well…see this blood?" Zim looked, some was dark green, some was dark red. "This is the blood of your leaders. Of all the crewmen on this vessel. Everyone on the Massive is now dead, Zim. Even Gaz…" Dib grinned wider and pointed to a big, brighter stain, "And this is her blood…"

"W-why?" Zim croaked out.

"Because…I had to…I had to kill them all to get to you," Dib said happily, stepping closer. One hand went behind his back as he grinned.

"Really? Well…now are we going to leave…to go home?" Zim asked. To go home with Dib now…that would be amazing…it was all he wanted.

"Sort of," Dib said, stopping himself from laughing, like there was some joke he wasn't telling.

"What, Dib?" Zim asked. Dib stepped a little closer and Zim heard Kita laugh a little.

"Well, it's just…that we aren't going home, Zim," Dib said slowly. "I'm here to kill you," He hissed, drawing a long crooked knife out from behind him. Zim saw it and pressed himself against the wall. He didn't know why he was so afraid right now. This was Dib…why would Dib do this? Zim could probably stab him with a pak leg before Dib even got close. But as he thought of it, his pak slowed and his weaponry functions wouldn't work. "For all the years I've wanted you dead…after playing around a little, I finally have my chance," Dib said giddily, growing ever closer.

The only sound that followed in the room was the shrill laughter of Kita and blood boiling screaming.

…

Drugs…lots of them. All he could remember before the sweet relief of them was fear and men dressed in red. Medical men. Irken meds wore red, like human meds wore white. It was symbolic and easily recognized. Only…Zim couldn't figure out why he'd seen them. The only thing on his mind was that it didn't seem like he was in his body anymore. Everything was floating…like clouds. It sort of felt like something was inside of his pak…little ants. That's what it felt like…ants…but he didn't freak out or worry. These ants seemed really nice. Nice little ants. Good ants.

Was that Dib he saw? Before the druggy world of happy was brought to him. Dib…and he looked so happy, and Kita was laughing so much, she was happy too. Good, they deserved to be happy for once. Both of them…after all that happened. Wait…what happened? Oh well, so he couldn't remember…whatever.

Gaz. Before the red men…there had been Gaz…she looked so different…so tired. Gaz was only sixteen and earlier she looked forty instead. Worry and fear was evident in her face, just as the malice and joyous evil was in Dib's. When did their roles switch around? Since when did Gaz care about him?

Zim felt too tired to answer these things now. He just dissolved into feeling the ants crawl around inside of him, and somewhere inside of that feeling, Zim truly fell unconscious and finally felt at peace.

…

Gaz left the room slightly disgusted. _No one_ should be allowed to do that…_ever_. It was Zim's _pak_…it felt wrong for people so _foreign_ to touch Zim…to be inside of him. Gaz knew that Zim's pak was essentially his mind, his whole self. The med men knew what was wrong now. She had shown them the serum that was injected into Zim when she was kidnapped, the one she had approved of after teaming up with the Tallest. And she told them what she saw Zim doing, talking to someone who wasn't there. They were Irken and knew the technology better than anyone, and they promised not to mess with Zim's personality or his mind before Gaz even had to ask. These men were trustable but seriously…not even Dib had touched Zim's pak before.

Gaz was worried. She couldn't tell if that was because Zim's fate was intertwined with hers…or if she honestly cared for him.

…

Ground Zero. They were on level one of the Massive, a place Dib had only ever dreamed of before. It definitely met expectations. Huge hallways and corridors, red metallic walls. It was also cold…very cold. Dib guessed that was because Irkens were bug-like and liked cold. Except for Zim, he always huddled near Dib for warmth in the night.

Dib shook his head and paid attention to the hallways and Skoodge, who was supposed to give the signal when it was clear to move. He waited…and waited…he tried not to think of anything, but when he saw any part of the ship, it just reminded him of Zim.

There it was, the signal. Dib headed down his designated path where he was to scout, then meet back up with the team at a certain intersection. Dib rushed and watched for Irken soldiers as he went along. The turn that led up to the intersection was ahead.

"Hi Dib!" Dib turned and spotting Gir chewing on the corner of a wall.

"Ssh, Gir," Dib said quietly. He hoped Gaz didn't have a spying device on Gir, otherwise he was toast.

"Hey, Mary, wanna see Queeny?" Gir asked obliviously.

"Y-You mean Gaz?" If Gir was willing to sneak him in to see Gaz, then Dib could do it. He could end it all. "Y-yeah!" Gir made the happiest face in the world before taking Dib's hand and leading him in the opposite direction.

This reminded Dib of the time Gir had lead him to Zim in that haunted mansion. That place had been scary on many levels. But Gir was leading him somewhere else now, to a much graver place.

It didn't take_ too _long before Gir stopped in front of a dark red door. Dib paused before going inside. The door looked like it was pulsing slightly. Dib put his hand on it and felt warmth radiating from within. This had to be Gaz's room, she was the only human Dib knew of being aboard and Irken's despised the heat, it seemed. Dib swung the door open and pointed his gun inside.

He didn't see Gaz. It was really too dark to see anything. Dib came to the middle of the room and let his eyes adjust to the darkness. There _were_ lights, they were just too dim to be useful. When Dib could finally see he dropped his gun out of shock. He was happy that it didn't go off on it's own from being dropped, but his focus was lost. Nothing mattered now. Not the gun, not Gaz, not his mission…nothing except the figure in front of him. Dib silently thanked Gir for saving him from doing a horrible thing.

Everything was okay again. Here he was.

He was sleeping soundly, he was a little paler than usual, but not enough to worry Dib. He wasn't wearing a shirt, but had pants on. His poor little antennae were limp against the pillow. His heart just melted at seeing him this way after such a long time. Dib finally let his emotions out…for the longest time ever, he finally smiled as he gazed at his lover.  
…

Zim woke up to orders…not directed at him…a familiar voice was giving them…. Someone who'd never given orders before. "…Yes Skoodge…I swear to God if you do, I'll-…okay. Abort; mission over."

Zim heard a click and everything was quiet. He let his eyes open and saw him again. He sat up and stared as the room started to tilt.

Dib…this was Dib. No, Dib was gone, he was dead. Zim saw him dead…wait, Dib blew up, so Zim didn't see. Wait, how did Dib die? But he was dead and yet there, right in front of him with tears running down his face. "You're…you're not Dib…" Zim whispered. Dib couldn't be here.

Not-Dib smiled sat Zim sadly. "Yes, Zim, I am," He said. Not-Dib didn't move, but Zim pulled a laser gun from his pak and pointed it at the imposter. Not-Dib saw the gun and laughed softly, almost like he'd never laughed before.

"No…Dib died," Zim said shakily, getting into a fighting stance. "You're not Dib!" Zim yelled.

"Then shoot me," He said, spreading his arms and closing his eyes. A peaceful smile graced his lips.

Zim waited for the imposter to move, to inch towards the weapon on the floor. "P-prove it…" Zim commanded, "Prove you're Dib, or I'll shoot!"

"I love you," Not-Dib uttered immediately. Zim lowered his aim and shot. Dib grunted softly and fell to his knees. The wound in his leg made sizzle noises, but he still held his arms apart, like an awaiting hig, and gazed at Zim lovingly. "I love you, Zim," He said again. His face was wet with tears.

As Zim tried to decide what to do, he noticed that his own face was wet now too. "Dib…why?" Zim asked, looking away from Dib with the gun still raised.

"Why what?" Dib asked.

"Why did this happen?" Zim asked hoarsely.

"I don't know…" Dib said. Silence permeated the air for a few tense moments. "Do you believe me yet?" Zim shook his head.

"Why'd you leave me locked up?" Zim asked.

"To protect you," Dib answered.

"You sound like your father…" Zim commented coldly. Dib hung his head with sad eyes.

"I'm so sorry about that," Dib said. "I know my father hurt you…but I love you, Zim, and I couldn't think of any other way to keep you safe…I just wanted you to be okay…" Dib choked himself off with sobs as he started to shake.

"Dear Jashin, Dib…you're such a pitiful hyu-man," Zim said, more convinced now that it was truly Dib sitting in front of him. Dib started to laugh and cry at the same time. Zim had seen something like it on the TV before. Zim put the gun away and got on his knees in front of Dib.

Dib started to look up when Zim took Dib's face in his hands. He remembered the other Dib…the bad one. That Dib had looked horrible, like he'd become evil. The real Dib…he was a little different too. His eyes were still honey brown and his features were still sharp. His hair was the same black, pointed hair it was before…but something was different. Dib was different. There was something about his eyes…like he was wiser than before.

Finally Dib couldn't stand it anymore. "Oh God, Zim!" Dib yelled, collapsing into Zim, who sat promptly on the floor. As Dib sobbed, Zim stroked his head softly. They remained that way for a long time before Dib sat up again. "I missed you…" Dib whispered.

"Yeah…me too," Zim said, not wanting to talk about the hell life was while Dib was gone.

Dib suddenly remembered something and looked down at his hands in shame. "Zim…I have to admit something…"

"What?" Zim asked, holding onto Dib's hand tightly.

"I…I'm so sorry, Zim…I cheated…" Dib told him, his voice cracking.

"…What do you mean? I don't care if you cheat on something," Zim said, grinning at Dib's foolishness. Zim cheated on lots of tests and things all the time. Dib laughed nervously.

"No…it's not that kind of cheating…" Dib said slowly.

"Then…what do you mean?" Zim asked roughly. He didn't like Dib keeping this "cheat" information from him.

"I…slept with a lot of women…because I thought you were dead," Dib spewed out. Zim raised an antenna in confusion, he didn't see how sleeping with someone at night was a problem. Dib sighed and held both of Zim's hands in his own. "I had sex with other people, Zim," Dib spelled out.

"What?" Zim burst out. "Are they dead now?"

"I-I don't know…" Dib said, shocked at how much Zim really cared.

"Well, if they aren't, I'll kill them all personally!" Zim yelled.

"You know…sex requires two people…it's _my_ fault too…" Dib said, shrinking back.

"What? …No, the Dib is not at fault," Zim said ignorantly and proudly. "Besides, I have you topped anyway."

Dib smirked, "Oh really? I killed people, I don't even know if I was supposed to kill them. I bet that tops anything you have," Dib boasted.

"Pff. So topped," Zim blurted.

"What? Well, tell me, what tops all of that?" Dib asked playfully, getting a little closer.

"Jack," Zim said solidly and seriously.

"Jack?" Dib asked.

"Jack," Zim confirmed.

"Oh God, Zim, you didn't," Dib whispered, half horrified, half fascinated.

"Yeah…" Zim whispered, the horribleness of what he did finally sinking in. Memories of that hell started pouring in again.

"…Why…?" Dib asked, reaching up to play with Zim's antennae like he used to.

"…He seduced me," Zim admitted.

Dib laughed, then looked in Zim's eyes and saw he was serious. "How'd he do that?" Dib asked.

"Bloodshed…" Zim answered, "Plus intoxication…"

"Oh…that makes more sense," Dib reasoned. Zim looked up and gazed into Dib's eyes.

"I missed you a lot, Dib…" Zim said. Dib smiled, his face full of warmth. "Everything was hell here without you….I don't think I was gonna make it…"

"Yeah…same here…" Dib said, "I was so lost…" Dib leaned forward and rested his forehead against Zim's and closed his eyes. "I've lost you so many times now, Zim. I don't think I can handle it again…"

"Don't leave again…" Zim begged, "If you leave me…even for a second, I'll hunt you down and rip your brain out and put it in a computer so you can't go anywhere…"

Dib smiled and nuzzled Zim's head. "That's comforting," He whispered. Zim smiled, Dib was so cute when he was sarcastic, something Zim finally knew how to recognize. "And you," Dib said seriously, "Don't ever die again."

Zim smiled. "I won't have to…because you'll be here," he said calmly.

"Of course," Dib said. Dib rubbed Zim's hand with his as they sat. They were right side by side, but it didn't seem close enough somehow. Zim thought of how much he loved having Dib next to him now…how much he'd missed it. Without warning Zim buried his head into Dib's chest and wrapped his arms tightly around Dib.

"You're real…you're really here," Zim whispered. He still couldn't believe it. Dib held Zim tightly.

"Yeah, Zim…I'm here," Dib said softly, rubbing Zim's back gently…making the pain inside go away.

"Good…" Zim breathed. Zim breathed in Dib's warmth, his smell, his touch. He drank it in, trying to memorize it and etch it into his mind. "Dib?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, Zim."

…

…

…

A/N

T-T AWWWW! What else can be said…?  
Sorry updates have been taking so long :/  
I love you all for being with me so long throughout this whole thing. And don't worry, it's not over now! There's still some fun stuff to get through :)  
Please R/R, thanks ^-^


	11. Lover

Chapter Eleven: Lover

"Don't tell me you're about to fuck all over my ship," an annoyed voice called from the doorway Dib had left open. Chills went up Dib's spine and he tensed at the sound of Gaz's voice. Completely the opposite though, Zim seemed relieved and welcome to Gaz appearing. Dib tried to read the mystery behind the blood-red eyes and only saw his own reflection.

"How did you know I was here?" Dib asked, hate edging his words. Zim looked at him in surprise at the harshness of his voice, but gazed curiously at Gaz, waiting for the answer.

"The exact way you knew where Zim was," Gaz answered, stepping aside and letting Gir roll into the room. He stopped rolling and gazed blankly about the room for a moment before noticing Zim.

"Queeny!" Gir shrieked and ran to him, tackling him to the ground. "I missed-ed you!" Strangely, tears came pouring out of the robots eyes as he hugged Zim lovingly.

"Gir…" Zim sighed, petting Gir's head. When Gir didn't stop crying or let go of Zim, he started getting agitated. "Gir! I just saw you an hour ago!" Gir stared up blankly before smiling, all signs of tears vanishing.

"Oh yeah," He chirped, letting go and going over to sit at Gaz's feet.

During the whole ordeal Dib watched Gaz's face carefully, and if he looked close, very close…she was smiling. But what was encouraging the action? Seeing Dib and Zim? Probably not since she was the one to split them up. Gir? She never used to smile, even with Gir around. What was it? "Dib, I hope you're not _too_ attached to those men you intruded my ship with," Gaz said offhandedly, looking at her nails.

"W-why?" Dib asked shakily, almost too afraid to know.

"They're in my prison, most likely getting tortured," She said uncaringly.

"What!" Dib exclaimed, "How could you!"

"Dib," Gaz sighed, "I don't see how this could possibly be surprising to you."

"Yeah," Zim said, deciding to join in, "She's always been this ruthless."

Dib sighed harshly. "How did this happen, Gaz? It's like just a few months ago we were at Zim's house playing video games without a care in the world… Now the Earth is in danger of being blown up and Zim's…well, alright now. But you're Queen of Earth and the Irkens and god knows what else…" Dib lost his steam and quit talking, but everyone knew what he meant.

Zim stared at the floor, unsure what to say. Gaz glared at the wall in silence, while Gir latched on to Gaz's leg, not making any noise. For a while, Dib thought no body would say anything, but Gaz titled her head down slightly, looking a bit sad. "Shit happens," She said wisely, Dib and Zim nodded solemnly.

"Aww! Mary got an ouchy!" Gir said, pointing at the burned flesh on Dib's leg. Dib grimaced and touched the wound gingerly, it hurt more now that Gir reminded him it was there.

"Sorry," Zim said softly, rubbing Dib's other, uninjured thigh.

"It's okay, Zim," Dib assured, bringing Zim a little closer. Gir showed up by his side and started ripping his pants where the wound was. Dib and Zim watched as Gir dressed it expertly, smiling and humming the doom song all the while. Dib seriously wondered where Gir learned to do these things.

Dib chanced a glance over at Gaz and was shocked to see her smiling wide enough that it was completely obvious that she was making a happy expression. What was weird was that she was smiling and holding her stomach in her hands. Dib noticed that her belly was bulging a little, which was so different from her usual stick figure. Dib figured she found out the hard way how much Irken's really enjoyed snacks.

"Please, Gaz," Dib started to beg, "Please don't keep my men in prison."

Gaz seemed to contemplate his plea. She looked at her belly, then at Dib and then Zim, then Gir. She sighed. "They're not in prison, Dib," Gaz told him.

"Where then?" Dib asked, knowing Gaz wouldn't just set them free, they had to be imprisoned and somewhere on the ship.

"…They're not even here now…I would guess by now they're back on Earth," Gaz said, staring hard at the wall again.

"What? …you wouldn't…" Dib said in denial, "They wouldn't just leave me here…"

"They did, Dib," Gaz said, "Because _my_ men were shooting at them." That figured, why waste time on torture when you could just shoot at them…Dib realized that his only ride home had just been chased away. "Don't worry though, they all made it out alive," Gaz assured, even though no one asked.

Dib felt guilty that he hadn't even thought of the other's safety, but then he remembered that he didn't care and the guilt went away. He didn't care much about anything anymore. But he did care about the sympathy and pain etched in Zim's face, his lethargic movements dragging him down as though he'd never slept before. He care about the emptiness in Gaz's voice, her blank expression, the way she also didn't care about anything. He wondered if she even chased off his team or if they turned tail on their own without her doing a thing. Did she even care if Dib went through with his mission and killed her now?

"Enjoying being Queen, Gaz?" Dib asked not unkindly, but honestly wanting to know. Gaz seemed about to bark a retort at him, but heard the same emptiness in his voice that had been in hers. Gaz stared at the wall for a minute before answering.

"It's…tiring…" Gaz said quietly. She seemed sad and empty as she said this, Dib didn't blame her. Being the leader always looked so good, but when you got it…it just didn't seem right anymore. Maybe Gaz was finally seeing that? Dib looked back to Zim and saw the sleepy heaviness in his eyes before Zim yawned. Gir curled up in Zim's lap and fell asleep, which wasn't a surprise, he was always changing his mood randomly.

Dib worked to shift Zim so he was leaning on Dib's shoulder and let him doze peacefully. He wondered how Zim even got on the ship, and how he got better. What happened to Zim while he was elsewhere? Dib was overcome with curiosity. Why did Zim give in to Jack? Out of loneliness? Boredom? Curiosity? Why, dammit?

"Well…don't you look worried," Gaz teased, eyeing Dib. Dib looked over at her and smiled.

"I'm glad I have someone _to_ worry over," Dib said happily. Gaz gazed at Gir and sighed. She seemed even sadder now at Dib's words. He felt a little guilty, he didn't mean to make Gaz sad. He tried to tell himself that he didn't care and shouldn't feel guilty, but he _did_ care. Dib looked at his sister, really _looked_. She looked tired, and she slouched slightly. Her hair was a little more drab than lately, a shade darker. She had a few lines to her face now, from the stress of ruling so many empires. She also had new clothes. She had a high-collared vest that ended partway down her ribs. Under that she had her usual striped-gray shirt, but it was cut so that it didn't go past the vest. Covering her belly was fishnet that actually hid her slight bulge, Dib had barely been able to spot it earlier. On her hips, just barely keeping from sliding down further, was a plain black skirt with two gray, metal plates held onto the fabric somehow. And, of course, she had skinny jeans on under the skirt. Dib was surprised to see that she was wearing high heels. They had about an inch of platform, giving her some power in the height based world. As Dib glanced back up at Gaz's face he also spotted a leather chocker around her neck, just visible past the high collar of her vest.

All in all, Dib thought Gaz looked pretty good for how desolate she seemed. She seemed older, too old to be sixteen… "So…what happened?" Dib asked quietly.

Gaz threw him a dangerous look, one that said she didn't want to talk about anything. But this was too important to let slide, and she knew it. "I thought we agreed already, _shit_ happened," Gaz said gruffly.

"True," Dib admitted, "But I want to know _what_ shit." Gaz blushed ever so slightly, it was barely a change in her pale color, but Dib saw it. What the hell could have happened to make Gaz embarrassed? Dib was getting damn tired of not knowing what went on while he wasn't there.

"Dib…there were some…requirements that needed to be filled for me to be Queen of _anything_," Gaz told him, Dib stared her down until she told him exactly what these requirements were. "_Fine_. But I'm only telling _you_ because you're my brother…. Dib…I'm pregnant."

At first Dib was marveling at how he actually got Gaz to give him information, but at the word 'pregnant'…his heart nearly stopped. "What?" He asked. Gaz looked down and hide her face behind her hair. "How?" Gaz didn't say anything, merely held her bulging belly carefully. Dib didn't see how she was showing like this, surely it had only been a couple of weeks, that wasn't enough time. "Who did this?" Dib asked, starting to get angry.

Dib's near yelling started to rouse Zim. "Mmm, what?" He asked drousily.

"Gaz's pregnant!" Dib yelled. As surprised and angry as Dib was, Zim was completely calm, if not a little bit surprised.

"I figured she would be," Zim mumbled, still waking up. Gir screamed and ran over to hug Gaz's leg again. She looked down at Gir and seemed to cheer up a little.

"What? Why? What the hell is going on here?" Dib asked angrily, about to explode with shock and disgust.

"I figure it was either carry or die," Zim said, "Die, or at least do something humiliating enough that you'd want to die…" Zim looked and the floor and slid his hand into Dib's. "The only way Irkens justify setting a human free is if they're experimentally carrying the smeet of another species." Zim's calmness spread into Dib some and he started thinking clearly. Gaz did this because she had to survive.

"So…is he right Gaz? You're only pregnant because you had to?" Dib asked, gazing up a Gaz, she nodded. Dib breathed a little easier. At least this wasn't the result of her falling in love with some dangerous alien, which would be bad. Dib looked down at the hand being held in his and felt guilty. Maybe it _would_ be better if Gaz had fallen in love…then she could feel the same way Dib did with Zim. "Who's is it?" Dib asked.

"_No one_," Gaz said defensively, backing away slightly. She seemed afraid to say who it was.

"Um…okay," Dib said, he figured Zim could tell him later anyway. Dib let the room fall to silence. Gaz stayed where she was, with Gir on her leg loyally. Dib wondered what would be next, what could possibly go wrong now? Maybe it was over now…that they were finally through with all the pain and that they could just go home and everything could be okay again.

Loud, shrieking sirens went off and red lights in the halls flashed. No, it wasn't over. Whatever force there was controlling the world was saying now that it was far from over. Gaz finally came out of her strange mood and turned to Dib and Zim, looking much more in control of herself than earlier. "You two stay in here," Gaz ordered and whisked out of the room, taking Gir with her, and slammed the door shut. Dib heard locks sliding into place.

"Great," Dib groaned. He got to his feet and tried to open the door, it was locked tight, too tight for him to open. He stayed at the door for a moment, trying to make it open by staring at it, before he realized he should make the most of his time locked in a little room with the love of his life.

"So what were you up to?" Zim asked, Dib turned around to see Zim standing up and playing with the gun Dib had dropped to the floor. As much as that picture turned Dib on, it was never a good idea to let Zim have firearms, especially in such a small, not to mention _locked_, room.

"Oh you know, joined a gang, killed some people, slept with women, the usual," Dib said casually, carefully taking hold of the gun, and easing it away from Zim. "What about you?"

"Well…I think I almost died a whole lot," Zim said, squinting with remembering what went on, "Had a lot of hallucination, slept with Jack…that's pretty much it."

A pang of jealousy racked Dib at the mention of Jack, but he forced his mind to not think about it. After all,_ he _cheated too. "So…where's everyone else? Skoodge, Inx, Mau," Dib asked, he had no idea where Mau was, he knew where Skoodge was, and knew Inx was probably with Skoodge, but he wondered if Zim knew where they were.

"Um…I dunno," Zim said absently. "I think Mau is with Jack…he probably murdered a bunch of girls by now." Dib gave a questioning glance at that, but Zim just shrugged.

"Well that's nice to know..." Dib mumbled.

"Just saying..." Zim said uncaringly. He didn't care about those silly women that Jack kept around.

"Well...Skoodge is on Earth, he's got his own ship," Dib said, trying not to think about that one thing.

"Mm," Zim said, acknologing Dib's words, but obviously not caring.

"How the _hell _did you and _Jack_ have sex?" Dib said, finally exploding, he just couldn't grasp the concept. "I mean, if it was anyone else, sure. You're sexy and everything, but I mean...Jack! How the _hell_ did that happen!" Zim looked down and blushed a dark green. obviously he was incredibly embarrassed about it and normally Dib would have left him alone about it, but this time, he just couldn't let it slide...this was _Jack_! Zim sighed deeply and sat next to Dib on the bed.

"Well...he..." Zim looked away and got a lot quieter, "he..._seduced_ me..." Dib waited for Zim to say 'just kidding' or start laughing, but he didn't, he was serious.

Dib burst out laughing, despite the tension. "He _seduced _you? How the hell does _anyone_ seduce _you_, Zim?" Dib asked.

"SHUTUP!" Zim yelled. He turned even darker green and wouldn't look at Dib.

"S-sorry," Dib mumbled and did his best to stop laughing. When he was calmer and more in control of himself he asked, "Okay, Zim, how exactly did Jack seduce you?"

Zim kept looking away for a while, but soon regained the ability to speak. "Blood...and beer..." Zim mumbled.

"Blood?" Dib asked, not understanding what Zim meant. Zim blushed again.

"Like...did you know that Jack can't die?" Zim asked. Dib shook his head.

"And that turns you on?" Dib asked. He didn't know how he could top that.

"Not exactly, no..." Zim said, "More like...he got me drunk and cut himself open and...my Irken senses _love_ bloodshed, so..."

"Oh." Dib got the basic picture now. Zim only slept with Jack because he let Zim bloody him up. Dib still felt jealous, though, because they'd had something that Dib couldn't have, Jack had touched Zim's Irken side, his instinctual side, and that was something Dib couldn't do. "I'm sorry..." Dib mumbled almost inaudibly, thinking Zim wouldn't hear him. But his antenna twitched and his head shot up, all signs of embarrassment gone.

"Why would you be sorry?" Zim asked. "You didn't do anything..."

Dib looked into Zim's eyes and saw sweet innocence, so unlike the bloodthirsty Irken Dib knew he could be. "Because...I can't give you that release like Jack can...I'd die if you ripped me open, but Jack can take it...he can be ripped open...or _anything_ you want to do," Dib winced at that thought, he hadn't thought of exactly what kind of bloodshed Zim meant. "So...I'm sorry I'm not good enough like that..."

Dib had sort of expected Zim to do something so violent, but the slap across his face stung more than he thought it would. Dib pressed a hand to his face and turned to Zim, whose antennae angrily stood erect. "Jack could _never_ be better than the Dib," Zim said firmly. "_No_ one _ever_ could." Zim leaned in and kissed Dib deeply and passionately, there wasn't a touch of anger in the kiss, it was sweet and loving. But when Zim pulled away, his brow was still furrowed in anger. "I've never hurt you, Dib, and I never would...I love you...and when we mate...we don't need blood, we don't need anything. It's too good for bloodshed." Zim looked off into space, trying to figure out how to explain it all. "Bloodshed and being drunk were the only reasons I would _ever_ mate with Jack...and I would never do it again...I hate that man...he's really creepy..." Zim finished his little speech and brought his legs up on the bed and curled up next to Dib.

Dib played with Zim's antennae absent-mindedly and thought about all of that. So bloodshed was a small thing. It didn't matter... "So...I'm better in bed than Jack?" Dib asked vainly. He was so insecure...

"_So _much better," Zim said immediately. Dib grinned, tonight just kept getting better.

"Was I better than your various women?" Zim asked uncaringly, playing with Dib's zipper, like he'd done once so long ago back at their house.

"_Oh yeah_," Dib confirmed, even though they both knew Zim was better than _any_ woman, though they never blatantly said it. The mood was much more relaxed now, and Dib leaned back on the bed, propping himself up with one elbow while his other hand remained playing with Zim's antennae. Zim purred softly, completely relaxed and at ease again. Life was finally getting better for the both of them now.

...

Life was turning into hell. She finally let her guard down, she admitted her pregnancy, she got _yelled_ at. And now her ship's been invaded _again_, twice in one day. Gaz sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Since when did everyone want to be around her. she glanced down at the new prisoner. She couldn't believe who it was, the one person she'd thought would be on her side of this.

"So, why again did you think it was good to invade my ship, Tak?" Gaz asked again.

"Because," Tak spat in that oh-so-annoying accent of hers, "If anyone's going to lead the Irkens, it should _be_ an Irken, not some human _bitch_ like you." Gaz had to admit, Take had guts...and a pretty damn good reason for it. But her idiotically _blunt _way of planning bothered Gaz. Yes, it was way better than Zim's plans, but she still failed horribly.

Gaz judged the sincerity of Tak's hate in her sneer. "Why are you really here?" Gaz asked, surprising the Irken kneeling before her.

"Hm, you're smarter than I anticipated, care to explain why you're the only human with any intelligence at all?" Tak asked snidely.

"Not really." Tak frowned. "Now. What is your mission here?" Gaz asked again more roughly.

"What do you think it is?" Tak grinned cruelly and Gaz knew the only way she'd get information from her would be to rip her pak apart. But an idea occurred, a memory from long ago. Gaz pulled out a high-powered plasma-ray gun. It was small and looked like a simply human gun, but inside was hidden a powerful, lethal force. She pointed it directly at Tak's head. Tak only looked slightly surprised, she'd expected as much from someone like Gaz.

"Zim?" Gaz asked in an echo of a voice. Tak's grin widened and grew malicious. Gaz could see a hundred years worth of hate and planning. She nearly got what she wanted too. She had been caught a few corridors away from where Zim was. Revenge. Cold and calculating, Gaz had felt it before and knew how Tak felt just now. So close, she would find a way to reach that sweet relief of accomplishing the vengeful act.

But she wouldn't. As excellent a soldier Tak was, she wouldn't allow her to take Zim away, too much depended on the little idiot.

"You can't stop me," Tak taunted, "After all these years…I will succeed!" Tak yelled.

The sirens went off again, yet another intruder. "God dammit," She cursed under her breath. Tak started laughing maniacally, pushing Gaz further. Suddenly, she'd had enough, Tak's laughter and the sirens combined was just too much.

For a moment, everything was white. The walls where white, the floor was white, the noise was white, Tak's blood was white…. It was peaceful…the way Gaz hadn't felt peace in a long time. But then everything went back to normal, back to the hell life had become. The walls were back to their grungy red, the floors were dirt brown, the cries of the siren still crying, and Tak's blood was a dark, menacing green. Gaz stared at Tak's body, crumpled and broken in a heap, blood running down her face and forming a dark puddle on the floor. It was splattered on the wall and on Gaz's gun, and even on Gaz.

A second after the shot was fired, someone yelled loudly.

…

He watched his true love fall against the ground, the terrifying grin still hanging on her lips. Her antenna hung limp against her head, and her purple eyes dulled. He couldn't take it, he couldn't stand to see her this way, so disheveled with blood staining her usually spotless uniform. An angry, grief filled scream tore from his lungs as he ran past Gaz and held his lovely in his arms.

Gaz seemed thoroughly confused by this. She seemed empty with dark green flecks dotting her face and hair. "Skoodge?" Gaz whispered in wonder at him. He ignored her and kept tending to Tak. She could still live if he hurried and took her to the ship quickly enough.

…

Hm. Gaz never would have imagined them together. Skoodge and Tak…. She wondered what all that was about. She thought about chasing Skoodge down and locking them both in confinement, but eh, too much effort. She'd rather deal with the newest intruder first.

She easily strode down the hall, not bothering to wipe the blood off her face. She found her guards stationed even closer to Zim. On the same hallway no less. Gaz could see Zim's door only a few yards away. She scowled and made a mental note to up the security.

She made her way to the center of the guard and looked down on the young human male. What was today anyway? Remember the past day?

…

Zim and Dib jumped when the heard it. A loud shot fired somewhere nearby. Dib shrank back a bit. "What do you think that was about?" Dib asked nervously. Zim's antennae perked up, straining to hear more noise. Almost immediately after the shot there was a horrible scream. Zim wondered what the hell was going on.

"I don't know…" Zim said honestly. He curled back into Dib's lap. "And I really don't care…"

"B-But…What if that was Gaz?" Dib asked so innocently, something Zim was seeing in Dib more often now than a year ago, hell, six _months_ ago.

"What is it was? Dib, the sister is a grown up, she can handle herself," Zim reminded him. But Dib only seemed to deflate more at that.

"She's only sixteen…" Dib mumbled.

"So? What age is adult on earth?" Zim asked, peering up at Dib observationally.

"Eighteen," Dib answered quickly, "…again Zim, how long were you on Earth?"

"S-shutup!" Zim snapped before thinking over the age. "So Dib recently became of adult age?"

"I guess…I turned eighteen last summer before we got together," Dib said, absently playing with Zim's hands. Zim made thinking noises as he pondered that over. Humans were so very different from Irkens, definitely. Irkens were no longer considered smeets after basic training. Other than that, there wasn't really a division among individuals other than rank. Humans thought more about age than intelligence, which wasn't a very good move on their part. "Anyway…what was that you were telling me before?" Dib asked lazily, dragging Zim out of his thoughts.

"Oh yeah," Zim mumbled. "We do have a sort of bonding like marriage among Irkens. But it's more like a collaboration of two strategically superior minds. The Control Brains decide who gets their DNA bonded. The Irkens have a sample of DNA taken and mixed together to be added to the birthing machine to create even more Irkens with superior minds."

"Wow…" Dib breathed out. Zim looked up at Dib's face, the face that was always thinking about something, the face Zim was always thinking about. "So…what happens after they're bonded?" Dib asked curiously, those warm eyes sparked with interest glancing back to Zim again. Zim's chest heated up at the attention those eyes gave; it was small attention, yes, but nonetheless…

"Nothing really…they continue to go about their lives, doing missions, serving the Tallest, you know," Zim said, not thinking about his words.

"And that's it?" Dib asked, seeming to be shocked. Zim felt confused, why was the Dib so shocked, Zim assumed he already knew a lot of Irken culture, enough that this shouldn't surprise him anyway. Zim nodded, signifying that there was nothing left to explain about the mundane act of bonding in Irken culture. A lot of worthy soldiers were chosen all the time. Not Zim of course…but that was because he was above it all, yes. "Zim, don't you see anything wrong with that?"

"Wrong with what?" Zim asked, observing Dib's confused expression, it was shocked and surprised and maybe a little angry. After hearing Zim's words, it grew angrier. Dib sighed and got up, leaving a disappointed Zim with nothing warm to curl up to.

"Your race is really cold-blooded, you know that?" Dib asked rhetorically. Zim felt a little bit of pride at actually recognizing that it was rhetorical.

"So is yours," Zim commented, remembering some of the vulgar things he'd learned on Earth. He had to admit, Irken culture was a lot more gruesome and Dib was probably right in being aggravated at it, but Zim felt strangely defensive of his home. It was home after all, the place he'd defended for so many years, the place he served and gave up his whole self to. Dib was on Earth for what, a fraction of the time Zim had devoted to Irk.

"Yeah, but to be with someone just for…for…DNA mixing and then separating!" Dib said loudly. "There's no dating or mixing or socializing. And you see _nothing_ wrong with that!" Zim straightened himself on the bed and watched Dib start to pace. His antennae perked rod-straight defensively.

"You're race has drawbacks too, _Dib_," Zim said, somewhat seething, the memories of the way the used to fight for years coming back to him. "Your ignorance for one!"

"Ignorant!" Dib raved. "If anyone's ignorant it's you Irkens!"

"No one believed you when clear evidence was right in front of them! I'd call that pretty damn ignorant!" Zim yelled.

"You kill and destroy randomly! And a sixteen year old _girl_ is leading you!" Dib yelled, trying to make sense of their yelling.

"Your race has way too many leaders and you fight amongst yourselves!" Zim yelled, standing up, fists balled and ready.

"Your race is hated by _everyone_ and _hates_ everyone!" Dib countered.

"You're race is deemed stupid and defenseless and even the weakest in the universe doesn't want to bother with you!" Zim screamed.

"You're race deemed you a _defect _and sent you to death without telling you, as a _joke_!" Dib yelled, going over the edge.

"You're race deemed you _insane_ and ignores your intelligence, because they wish _you_ would die!" Zim yelled back. Both of them stopped yelling and looked at each other. Dib's face was flushed red with anger and yelling too much. Zim's antennae were hanging over his face aggressively, and his cheeks had gone a dark green.

"We're both kinda stupid…" Dib admitted.

"…you were stupid first…" Zim mumbled quietly, looking away from Dib. Dib just laughed and floated closer to Zim.

"Why did I _ever_ defend such a stupid race like Earth?" Dib asked, again rhetorically.

"Why did _I_ ever want to serve the Tallest…?" Zim asked, imitating this 'rhetoric' style.

Dib laughed and looped his arms around Zim's waist, circling him in warmth yet again. Zim grinned and gripped Dib's arms, pulling him closer. "I win," Zim whispered.

"Oh really?" Dib asked. "And what is it you win?"

"You."

"You didn't have to compete for that."

"But I did anyway."

"…true."

"Dibbers?"

"Yeah?"

"Marry me."

…

…

…

…

A/N

I am ssoooooooo evil! Muahahahaha. Don't worry though, it's Thanksgiving! Or Thanksgiving break anyway :) ….foooood. So I'll have lots of time to update sooner than normal!

:) Thanks for all your loving (: I don't love you back…..just kidding, I really do…in a more platonic way ;)

Oh and, as karma loves me, I'm starting to get sick….yeah. Damn kids…and their vile GERMS!

Love you ^-^ Read and Review


	12. Android

Chapter Twelve: Android

"W-What?" Dib choked out, peering down at his alien. Zim pouted and looked at Dib with those sweet crimson eyes.

"Isn't that the standard procedure amongst humans?" Zim asked, "A sacred ceremony of bond-y things caused by squishy heart-felt emotion-y things for one another?"

"Uh…yeah," Dib said, taking a moment to decipher Zim's way of putting it. "People usually get married when they're older than us though…er, well, me anyway."

"Pfffff," Zim said, looking annoyed again, "Those are idiotic humans, can you honestly live without the amazing Zim beside you?"

Dib smiled at Zim's arrogance and pride. "No, I guess not," He said, remembering the past couple weeks.

Zim grinned. "There, you don't need to wait until you're older, you're intelligent enough to know what you want now." Zim beamed and waited for Dib's answer.

"You…you really want me to marry you?" Dib asked, the reality of it coming to him. He never really thought about their relationship much before, and even before Zim, Dib never thought he had a chance in hell of getting married. Zim knit his brows together worriedly, his patience apparently thin as ever.

"Of course, Dib-stink," Zim said, "Why else would I ask?"

Dib chuckled. "Yeah…" He stopped smiling and looked into Zim's eyes, trying to be serious. "Yes Zim, I'll marry you." Zim grinned in dominance, looking like he'd won a challenge, even though winning Dib was effortless.

Zim put his hands on Dib's chest and cuddled closer. "Good. I'd have to shoot you if you said no." Dib laughed nervously, unsure if Zim was serious. He probably was. But it wasn't like there was a chance Dib would say no anyway, so he guessed it didn't matter.

"So, you wanna plan the wedding or me?" Dib asked, the thought of who was the female in their relationship reemerging. Dib smirked and anticipated Zim's answer.

Zim looked off in thought, seeming so serious about the decision. "What is there to plan?" Zim asked, being completely serious about it.

"Um…um…" Dib stammered and thought about that. "Well…lots of things…who will come…decorations…where it is, the food, the clothes…"

"And these things matter to the Dib?" Zim asked, watching Dib with wonder in his eyes.

"Uh…I dunno…" Dib admitted, again he hadn't thought about these things before.

Zim frowned and looked annoyed. "Then you do the planning Dib-stink! How should Zim know how to perform your stupid Earth rituals." Zim tried to look away and seem dramatic, but he just looked like he was pouting. Dib smiled, but inside he cursed, he was the female again, stuck with planning.

"Fine," Dib huffed, pulling Zim forward suddenly. Zim squeaked in surprise but didn't pull away. Dib decided to just forget the argument of who was the girl, he was Dib and Zim was Zim. Dib pressed his forehead against Zim's and leaned in, about to get romantic when a sudden, scary thought occurred to him. "Uh…Zim?"

"Yes…." Zim whispered, getting into the moment, not sensing Dib's rising panic.

"We're trapped in a small room with no way out and Gaz is the only one who knows we're here…" Dib said quickly. He held Zim a little tighter, fear of his sister and the things she would be willing to do gripping him.

"So?" Zim asked, not seeing the big deal, "She helped us get here didn't she?"

"Um…she helped you, I guess," Dib mumbled, "But what if she helped you just so she can completely destroy you? It is Gaz you know…"

Now there was a spark of fear in Zim's eyes and Dib felt him tense up below him. "She…she wouldn't do that," He said, laughing nervously.

"Check your memory Zim, remember when Gir stole that part and Gaz made us compete?" Dib asked. He only remembered because he was still a bit Irked that Zim got more phone numbers than him, a considerably large amount more.

There was a quiet, nearly inaudible whirring sound in Zim's pak before Zim tensed up even more. "Y-yeah…" He whispered, glancing nervously to the door and back.

"Well…I think this might just be some larger version of that…" Dib whispered. Just as he finished, the door blew open dramatically.

…

"Reeeeeeeedd, I'm boooooooorrrredd," Purple slurred out. Red sighed, he was bored too.

"Where do you think Gaz is?" Red asked. Purple shrugged. They looked back out to the stars and watched the on goings of Earth. They were so glad that Zim turned out to be wrong. He merely took a long, winding path to Earth, which was why it took him so long. When taking a straight path, it only took a couple of weeks. "She'd better be back soon."

"Hey I know! Let's go to Foodcourtia!" Purple exclaimed.

"That sounds like fun…but that's all the way back past Irk," Red pointed out.

"So? We're the Tallest, we can do what we want," Purple said, starting to float in a circle, to prove their superiority…somehow.

Red didn't see how going in circles showed off that they were the Tallest and in command, but he started to float in circles too. "Okay, Servant…thingies, set a course for Foodcourtia!"

"Gaz will just _love_ Foodcourtia!" Purple said, imagining all the food there.

"Yeah…" Red whispered, also awed by the thought of the seemingly magical place.

…

"Gazzy~!"

"Shut the fuck up…." Gaz walked right up to the boy and slapped him. "Keef…you're supposed to be dead…go back to being dead," She ordered.

"Aw, Gazzy, don't be so mad," Keef begged, looking like he would cry, "I'm just here to see-" Gaz muffled his words with her palm, she knew who he was here to see, but the guards weren't allowed to know about Zim. As Gaz contemplated what to do…and Keef continued talking even though there was a hand blocking his mouth, Gaz observed the boy. He seemed to have grown up, favoring a red faux-hawk and Levi's blue jeans. He looked quite athletic, which was probably how he always survived shit. Gaz considered shooting him right there where he babbled, but he would probably live through it. He lived through being exploded after all.

"Keef…did you really come all this way to see…" Gaz shuddered at these words, "Your _buddy_?" Gaz removed her hand cautiously.

"Oh yeah~!" Keef blurted happily, "I'm here to get my bestest friend ever! Then we're gunna go see the circus!" The guards looked confused about what Keef was saying, but Gaz was just annoyed.

"Keef…shut up…" Gaz ordered. This time he complied, instead just watched the guards with curious eyes, beaming at them like they were all his friends. "You are so creepy…" Gaz mumbled under her breath. This only made Keef happier, and creeped Gaz out more.

Before Gaz could properly decide what to do, explosions down the hallway distracted her. She heard the bodies of her guards fall to the ground helplessly. The hallway filled with smoke as she tried to see what was going on. Zim's door was now obscured by the smoke and that scared Gaz. She left Keef's side to determine what the cause of the disruption was.

A blue-haired man…human, she noted, walked up to her calmly and happily. "Hi there! Come with me please~." The man said, holding out his hand for Gaz to take.

"Who the hell are you and why are you here?" Gaz asked cautiously. She stared into his eyes, searching for the reason this was happening. His eyes were the same shade of navy blue as his hair. Around his neck was a long blue scarf of that same shade. He had a long white cloak on with blue trim and yellow arrows on the sleeves and a yellow strip around both blue cuffs.

"My name is Kaito.~" He said cheerfully, "And I'm here to help you!" Gaz looked deeper into his eyes and could just sense that there was something…not right about this Kaito. She looked to the collapsed guards behind her. Reluctantly she took Kaito's hand and let him lead her down the hallway.

…

When the door exploded open, it scared Dib practically to death, but not near as much as Zim going limp in his arms. The soft whir in his pak that was always going suddenly stopped and Zim closed his eyes, suddenly just…not there.

"Zim? Zim?" Dib held Zim's weight, pressing him close, trying to rouse the Irken. He shook him lightly, not noticing the figure that walked in the room. "Zim!" Dib yelled, his shaking getting worse.

That was when he felt a cold hand clasp his shoulder. "He's not going to wake up right now," Someone told him. Dib looked and saw a boy shorter than him staring up at him. He had bright blonde hair and dark blue eyes…he looked just like…but he couldn't be…

"What do you mean, right now?" Dib asked suspiciously.

"We set off an electric shock to shut down all Irken paks within a fifty yard radius, he'll wake up in a few minutes," The boy told him, hand still on Dib's shoulder. "So, don't worry about him, for now we need to leave while the guards are passed out."

Dib looked the boy over skeptically. "What's your name?"

"Len," He said easily, smiling at Dib mechanically. Dib recognized Lin's expressions and the way he moved, and knew he could trust the boy.

"Okay, Len, let's go," Dib said with authority in his voice. He easily picked Zim up, who was surprisingly lighter than usual, and followed Len out into the smoky hallway. He noticed that Len wore some sort of white and yellow sailor's shirt with a yellow tie. He had plain black shorts with a yellow rope thing attached to his belt.

When they entered the hallway, Dib couldn't see anything. He just hoped that Len wouldn't lead them into trouble. He was completely unarmed and carrying the unconscious Irken.

…

Almost there. They were almost to Skoodge's ship. Almost there…almost there. Skoodge was panting and trying not to let Tak bleed out completely. He stopped and looked up at the waiting and expecting doors of his ship…if his ship had been there. He looked around the loading bay and cursed roughly in Irken. His_ comrades _must have chickened out and left him behind. Great…now what would he do?

"Hello there," A calm voice said behind him. He spun around to see a human face looked at him with concern.

"H-Hello…" Skoodge mumbled, staring at the two women before him. The one that had spoken looked young, and she had long…long aqua hair tied up in pigtails. Even up, it reached to the girl's ankles. She had calm reassuring blue eyes that seemed to erase any thought of her being bad from his mind. She was wearing a dark gray, sleeveless shirt with an aqua tie the color of her hair. The same aqua color lined the edge of her black pleated skirt. Thigh-high boots covered most of her legs.

"That looks like quite the load," The other girl stated. Skoodge looked at her. She seemed rather plain compared to Miss Aqua. Brown eyes, brown hair cut short with bangs. Her red, sleeveless shirt was cut right after her chest. Her red miniskirt was very revealing with lots of skin in between her skirt and knee-high boots.

"Meiko, don't be rude," The aqua one said quietly. Meiko looked off to the left and seemed annoyed. "My name is Miku," She said kindly to Skoodge, "Do you need help?"

Skoodge looked at them both then at Tak, still dying in his arms. "Yes," He said, deciding to go ahead and trust them. If they betrayed him, he would most likely lose Tak, but on his own he would definitely lose her anyway. So what the hell.

"Our ship is nearby, we can help you there," Miku said, smiling wide at Skoodge. It was a slightly creepy smile, but hey, everyone had their faults. Miku led Skoodge towards her ship and Meiko followed behind Skoodge. It really wasn't that long of a walk. They took Skoodge inside the ship, which was pretty lavish and expensive looking, but was small and only had one room. Skoodge figured this one would take them to an even bigger one. One that wouldn't fit in the loading bay. As Skoodge laid Tak down and did what he could as the humans watched, he wondered just what kind of girls these humans were and why they were aboard the Massive so suddenly.

…

Len piloted the small cruiser expertly, leading them out of the loading bay and out into the void of space. For a while, Dib thought this was it, that this was the ship they'd be staying in. But they soon came to a huge ship, half the size of the Massive itself. Dib gazed at the glory of it as they landed in a new bay, finally aboard the ship they would stay in. "This ship is owned by my master, the amazing lord of engineering. He owns this ship and many other glorious inventions," Len told him, as if he were a guide on a leisurely tour.

Dib marveled at the designs of the ship, they seemed so familiar, even though he'd never seen this ship before. Almost like he would know the person who designed it. "Say, who is your master anyway? I mean, I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I don't want the horse to suddenly explode with a bomb as I'm riding it either…you know?"

Len listened to Dib's long question, it seemed like he didn't understand Dib's way of putting it, but he answered anyway. "My lord it-"

"Dibbers! Zimmeh~!" A high, almost musical voice called out. Dib froze and looked around. He saw the boy exciting his vessel and headed straight towards them. He noticed also that several other people were coming out of space vessels. But this one boy…no…it couldn't be. But Dib couldn't mistake the unnatural excitement on his face or that messy, orange mane. Ugh. It just had to be today that Keef decided to show up.

And, as a twist of fate, that was also the moment Zim started to wake up. It hadn't been ten minutes yet, but it had been getting close. Now Zim mumbled with his eyes closed, pressing himself to Dib's shirt, not wanting to wake up.

"Aw, is he sleeping~?" Keef asked, striding over to them. Without permission from Dib or Zim, Keef gently rubbed one of Zim's antennae as though to wake him up softly. Zim woke up immediately, knowing the hand wasn't Dib's. He almost fell to the floor in the rude awakening but managed to stay aloft in Dib's arms. Thank god he was so small and light, or Dib surely would've dropped him by now. Zim stared at Dib for a minute, then at Keef, then at the others in the room.

…

What the hell? Keef? Impossible, he was blown up, he died. Of course…he did die once before that…so…oh hell. How did Keef always manage to survive shit? And…where were they? Zim partially recognized the ship, but it wasn't one he'd actually seen before. But there was something about it…the way it was built, it's flow, the design…it was unmistakable.

And who were these other people? This other boy who looked like Rin? Zim listened closely, staring hard at Dib for concentration. He could hear it. That sound…it was slight, but he had always heard it in Rin. The boy, the brunette girl, the aqua girl…they were all androids. Zim stared at Keef and tried to deduce how this was possible…how did Keef have this ship. Assuming it _was_ Keef's to own, which Zim always followed his assumptions faithfully. And how did he have these androids. Zim started having a very unsafe feeling about it all. He noticed he was cornered with Keef in front of him, a closed vessel behind him, and various androids scattered about the room, ready to attack.

If Zim hadn't been in Dib's arms with his pak against the human's chest, he would have promptly started stabbing Keef with his pak legs until he stopped moving.

…

Dib didn't like the look Zim was giving Keef. Was this jealousy? Hell no. It was fear, fear for Keef. Zim looked like he wanted to strangle the hell out of the poor boy. Dib kept Zim securely locked in his arms to prevent anything tragic or bloody to happen, Zim's pak trapped tightly in the crook of Dib's arm so nothing could come out of it without first hitting Dib. He wasn't sure why he was protecting Keef, but the boy was saving them right now…right?

"Dib," Zim hissed into Dib's ear quietly, "Diiiiiiib! They're androids!" Dib's eyes widened and looked at Len, who had obviously heard Zim with his super human hearing as he glanced up to meet Dib's gaze. Len smiled politely.

"Like Rin?" Dib asked in a calm, hushed whisper. Zim nodded, not bothering with hiding the gesture.

Dib stared at the others. Keef, who was staring at Zim wondrously and shifting around wordlessly, almost like he was too excited to speak. There was Len, and two girls stood behind Keef, seeming unsure what to do but excited anyway.

"Hey, he's green too!" The girl with aqua hair said, looking completely befuddled.

"Is _he _the one we were supposed to bring?" The brunette girl asked, looking more pissed off than confused.

"Yup!" Keef managed to squeal before covering his mouth, as though he didn't want to speak. The brunette scowled at the aqua themed girl. Dib could tell there was a bit of tension between them, but he didn't really care right now. Len just stood, smiled, and watched everything.

Finally Dib just sighed, tired of all the tension going on. "Where are we going, Keef?" He asked, watching Keef and wondering if he would blow up again. He was dancing around like he might.

"We're goin' back to Earth, of course!" Keef said happily, "Zimmeh and I still havta go to the circus!" Zim visibly shuddered before huddling closer to Dib's chest.

"Okay, well, where can we stay before then?" Dib asked, not caring anymore.

Keef gasped and jumped a little. "We can stay at the Bridge! I haven't got to use it yet!" Keef started walking off and Dib followed. He noticed that all the androids loosely followed too, like they weren't sure what they were supposed to do now. "When we get there we can watch a movie and cuddle in rainbow Snuggies and eat popcorn…" Keef kept going on and on and on, Dib tuned him out, instead watching the awesome designs of the ship as they passed them. Zim pressed his cheek into Dib's shoulder.

"We're not _really_ going to do all that will we?" Zim asked desperately, obviously fearing all things loving when associated with anyone but Dib, especially when it was Keef. Dib shook his head, pretty sure he could overpower Keef, or else distract him and make him do something else. Zim sighed in relief and wrapped his arms around Dib's neck protectively. "Good…the thought of rainbows makes me want to blow him up again…" Zim mumbled into Dib.

Dib chuckled, "Yeah, I know what you mean."

Just as Dib was going to say something else, they walked into the 'bridge'. Dib was amazed. There were several maroon couches spread apart throughout the room. At the front was a huge wall sized screen connected to a smaller computer. Sconces on the walls provided a nice mellow atmosphere. The walls were a mixture of red and purple as was the floor, the table in the middle had a green, spiky plant as a centerpiece. The plant must have been foreign because it wasn't in a pot or anything; it seemed to be attached to the table. When Dib and Zim sat on one of the couches, Dib saw that there were roots protruding from the underside of the table.

Dib looked to check on Zim, who was staring around the room with serious thought on his face, antennae pointing straight forward in frustration. All of a sudden Zim stood shakily to point at Keef, who was fiddling with the computer. "You thief!" Zim yelled loudly. All the androids watched Zim warily, but Keef just turned around and grinned. "How dare you even TOUCH any of Zim's _amazing_ blueprints!" Zim ranted, still pointing. Dib held his ground on the couch, unsure he wanted to be involved.

"But, Zim, they were _so_ cool~! I couldn't help but try them!" Keef said happily, beaming at them. Zim calmed down a bit, his ego being boosted.

"How the hell did you do this?" Zim asked, referring to the room, and the ship as well.

"I followed the directions~!" Keef replied, seeming _so _simple-minded. Zim grunted and rubbed his head.

"That's not what I mean…" Zim mumbled.

"Keef," Dib said, deciding to speak up for Zim's sake. "Did you build this ship yourself?" Keef nodded.

"With _my_ designs! _My_ calculations!" Zim said, making sure everyone understood.

"So, uh, how did you know what to do?" Dib asked, not sure even Zim could have built a ship. He was smart enough to draft it, sure, but actually make it work? Dib doubted it, but Keef did it…how was that even possible?

"Oh, ever since elementary school I wanted to be like Zim, so I learned to be a mechanic~! Because Zim knows how to build stuff, so I wanted to build stuff too," Keef elaborated. Zim seemed very uncomfortable at the idea of Keef becoming like him. He also seemed more aware that he wasn't currently disguised and Keef hadn't wondered at him at all. Well, anymore than usual.

"And the androids?" Dib asked.

"Yeah, I made those too~," Keef said, staring at Zim the whole time. "I already built all of Zim's stuff, so I was bored and went to Professor Membranes lab and built his plans too~!" Keef told them. Now Dib felt uncomfortable. Keef had been in his father's labs? That was pretty…stalker-like. Now he knew how Zim felt around Keef.

"Keef is a very good mechanic," Someone said from behind them. Dib and Zim both turned to see the new voice walked through the door and smile at them. "I wouldn't be here otherwise." She laughed and walked up to Dib. "Hi, Dib."

Her blonde hair was the same as always, and she was wearing a plain white dress that flowed to her knees. "H-Hi, Rin…" Dib stuttered.

"Yes, yes, hello," Zim muttered, "Don't interrupt conversation, girl." Dib threw Zim a glare before turning back to Rin. It occurred to Dib that he'd never told Zim what had happened to Rin.

Dib stared up into Rin's blue eyes and wondered if this was the same Rin, or if she was completely new, a blank robot. "It's good to see you're both okay," Rin said happily, "…demon slayer."

Dib suddenly remembered the song Rin sang to him as she died, how she called him a demon slayer. He remembered the bulge in his pocket and reached in. "Here, Rin," He said, handing her the white bundle. Rin smiled and put her bow back in her hair. It was slightly smudged with smoke, but was okay for the most part.

Zim sat down with a huff and wrapped an arm around Dib protectively. Dib pried his gaze away from Rin and back to Zim. His alien was so the jealous type. As Zim pouted, Dib nuzzled him, trying to make up for the lost attention.

Rin walked around the couch and to Len's side. When they stood side by side. They looked like twins, and they probably were, too. Twin androids. Keef stood with his hands clasped together and a huge smile on his face. He was staring at Dib and Zim eerily. "Aww~! You guys are _so _cute~!" Zim frowned and glared at Keef, Dib did much the same. Keef giggled and remained smiling. Dib was starting to come around to Zim's idea of killing him again. It may not work, but it would get him to stop smiling, if only for a while. "So~! Wanna watch a movie?" Keef asked obnoxiously. A loud 'No' sounded from both Dib and Zim at the same time. "Maybe some music~?" Another no. "How about-"

"Are you really human?" Zim asked suddenly.

"What?" Keef said, giggling nervously.

"Are. You. Human?" Zim asked again irritably.

"Uhh…" Keef looked around at his androids for help, but they didn't seem to know what to say either.

Suddenly, the screen behind Keef lit up and showed a blue haired figure. "Keef~," He said happily, "I'm sorry, but we can't go to Earth." The mysterious man with blue hair smiled…just like Keef.

Keef seemed relieved at first, saved by the 'bell' perhaps. But then he was worried. "Why can't we?" He asked, pouting. Dib and Zim looked at each other, unsure what the problem was.

"Because…well…frankly, Earth has been blown up," The blue-haired man reported. He kept his smile, even though it pissed Dib off. How could be smile when such horrible news was here? He was probably programmed to do that, knowing Keef. But it still made Dib mad.

"Oh, we'll have to think of something else to do then," Keef said dejectedly, although he sounded more like a play-date got cancelled than the whole fucking world being blown up.

"Something else?" Dib echoed sarcastically. He got free of Zim's grasp somewhat to glare holes into Keef's head. "Was anyone saved from Earth?" He asked the blue reporter. He shrugged and smiled politely at Dib. "How can you not know?" Dib asked, getting angrier. He shrugged again.

"Don't worry, Dib…" Zim said, rubbing Dib's hand empathetically, "They were all ignorant pigs anyway…"

"What?" Dib burst, he looked at Zim with surprise and shock etching his face. He knew Zim hated humans, but seriously, this was Dib's home planet! "Not all of them!"

Zim shrugged, obviously not caring. "I was going to destroy them eventually anyway…" Zim mumbled. Dib ripped his hand away from Zim's.

"Zim! We're talking about a whole planet!" Dib exclaimed.

"I know," Zim said, staring at Dib curiously, wondering why Dib was so mad now.

"My whole species…" Dib whimpered.

"It's okay, Dib," Zim said again, reaching for him.

Dib scooted away from Zim on the couch, out of his reach. "Stop saying that! It's not okay!" Dib yelled tiredly. Zim shrugged and faced forward, leaning back into the couch and pouting again. Dib did the same.

"So, movie~?" Keef asked obnoxiously.

…

She watched them all on the cameras. She still couldn't believe she'd bypassed the security so easily. Well, it _was _Zim's design after all. But she was still a fucking ninja, no matter how easy it was to get in. Her hoop earrings tilted with her head as she grinned at what was happening to Gaz. Served that bitch right, for all she did. Getting such high roles and everything she wanted without a care, without _earning_ it…well, she was earning it now…with her _pain_. The gypsy's eyes glinted as she saw what the blue-haired android could really do. She knew that pansy-ass machine had something in him.

Nikki chuckled while watching all the on-goings of the ship. This was so much better than watching the cameras of the Massive. On this ship, her predictions had been made true. Gaz was paying and Earth had been blown up. Nikki grinned once more, wondering slightly where Zayn had gone off to before she decided she didn't care. The fucker could take care of himself…or not, whatever.

The android…(Kaito was it?) looked up at the camera and grinned sadistically, as if knowing Nikki was there. A spark of fear leapt through her heart, but somehow she was excited by it. Would more of her deathly predictions come true on this ship?

…

…

…

A/N

There's your bleeping scene Nikki! I even added some cursing, because I know you're a potty mouth.

Ahem. Sorry for the long wait! I've been busy, blah. Anywho! Hope you're not too mad at me this time! Although the threats are usually very interesting~. ^-^

K. Love you lots everyone! Read and Review Please~! ktnxbyez.


	13. Healing

Chapter Thirteen: Healing  
[Words~]: means dialog in the Irken language ;)

The overhead lights buzzed with electricity and made the room a weird pale yellow. It wasn't very comforting. The red walls and designs gave an eerie, battle-like atmosphere. Skoodge didn't like the way it resembled impending doom. But it seemed to soothe Tak, she was calming down steadily now. She really loved violence in any way, like the sharp points and contrasts of Zim's designs. At least, Skoodge assumed Zim plotted this ship anyway, it had his distinctive touch of disaster build into every corner next to a few new elements that he couldn't quite place.

He glanced at Tak and wondered why she hadn't been paired with Zim instead. They were both great at building things and both had been known to destroy those same things. Skoodge never felt like he could match up to their levels of ingenious and mastermind abilities. Sure, he had conquered a dying planet with next to no population left, but did that really count? Tak hadn't taken over any planets, but she had injected her DNA illegally into the system without anyone's knowledge. Skoodge was always surprised that Zim hadn't done the same thing, too. At least Skoodge was legal. Then again, Skoodge was filed as away on a mission on a non-existent planet and both Tak and Zim were assumed to be dead or locked up. So really all three were fugitives of the Empire.

And yet, he didn't feel like he'd betrayed them at all. He was fine with it all.

"Where's Zim?" Tak grunted, finally awake enough to form a question. Skoodge sighed and stroked Tak's antenna while searching her squinted purple eyes. All she cared about anymore was getting revenge on Zim, even when she was so badly injured. Skoodge kept her head cradled in his lap as she stared at the ceiling.

"He's dead," Skoodge lied, knowing Tak would revel in his friend's death.

He was right, a huge victorious grin spread across Tak's face. "I killed him?" She asked.

"Yes." Tak let her eyes slip closed as she took in this fact. She smiled and laughed a little, probably imagining Zim's dead body.

Skoodge wished Tak would look at him like that. With such obvious pleasure and enjoyment. Skoodge loved Tak so much, but he was just a tool to her, a piece of trash on the street. She didn't care if he saved her life or if he pined for her. He didn't matter, he wasn't a matter. All of her life was dedicated to ending Zim. But now what? Nothing, Skoodge would let her go.

He looked at the blood on his hands then at Tak. The tradition of bonding sucked. Tak couldn't care less and Skoodge couldn't stop caring. Guess it was a glitch in his pak that made him care so much. He finally had something in common with Zim, now he knew why Zim was so depressed when Dib was supposedly dead.

Tak had her own glitch, anger. Sure, Zim had trouble with anger too, as did Skoodge. Zim had a lot and Skoodge had practically none. But Tak, Jashin, she had way too much, and she couldn't control it. She was a genius, but she always let her rage let her get carried away with small worries, like getting rid of Zim. She could do so much if she could let go of her anger, or at least set it aside for later.

What a bond this was. The three of them were all defective.

…

Zim sat on his end of the couch watching the ending of probably the worst movie ever. Dib looked equally disgusted on his end. Keef sat, delighted, in between them. It reminded Zim of when Keef exploded, he wished he could make Keef explode again.

Throughout the whole horrible experience Zim kept throwing glances across Keef at Dib, watching Dib's misery. He was so distracted by looking at Dib that he was hardly following the movie at all. He had voted for it only because he knew it to have mythical creatures in it, he had _thought_ the Dib might like it and stop being so mad. But the damn Earth flick did nothing, if anything it made the boy even worse, thus making Zim angry as well. And an angry Zim just wouldn't do.

And it had to get worse, just as Zim thought the movie would be good and the damn creature would eat the human, he saved her instead. Zim didn't see why he would want the girl; she was so small and defenseless. She was stiff as a board and easy to trick, she had no fire, no fight in her. She wasn't Dib. Thus she deserved to be eaten. That was Zim's understanding on the matter.

…

This was the worst movie ever. Dib had seen it before. When it came out Gaz locked him in a room and forced him to watch it. Several times. He could guess why Zim had chosen it. Because of the vampires, but Dim didn't believe in vampires. At least, not real ones, he knew there was a chocolate vampire. But that guy turned out to be some fat guy in a costume. But still, the movie was completely atrocious. What made matters worse was that Zim kept staring at him every few seconds. It was really creeping Dib out.

Instead of looking at Zim, or the movie, Dib watched the androids leaning against the wall. They seemed bored, like they'd seen the movie a hundred times. With Keef around, Dib didn't doubt it. When Dib looked at the screen again it was at the only decent scene in the movie. The part where the female bitch gets thrown around into glass walls nearly dies. Every time Dib saw it, he hoped that the vamp would change the movie by biting her too hard or too deep. But then the human lives and Dib's fantasy of her death is over.

Dib let his eyes wander again, this time Rin's blonde hair shimmering with the light from the screen caught his eye. She smiled at him with warmth in her eyes, Dib smiled back. That was a bigger mistake than he realized.

…

Dib smiled at her. At that _bitch_! He was smiling at her and giving her hair things from his pockets! That was his Dib to smile at, his pockets to pilfer! And she was smiling back! What a whore! Zim couldn't believe the act he was seeing before him. Dib was ignoring him, purposely not noticing Zim's glances.

Zim was furious. The credits started to roll and Keef squeaked, reminding everyone of his presence. "Wasn't that an awesome movie~?" Keef asked, getting up and going over to the computer. Zim grunted as a response.

From across the couch cushions Zim heard Dib mumble, "…they don't sparkle, they eat chocolate…" Zim raised an antenna in confusion but didn't bother asking.

"So hey~! You guys wanna go to Foodcourtia?" Keef asked with excitement.

"No." Zim crossed his arms and frowned. There was probably still a bounty out for him there; he wouldn't be caught dead at that place.

Dib looked at him quizzically. "I think that'd be tons of fun, Keef. I've never been to Foodcourtia."

"Foodcourtia?" Someone behind them asked. Zim could tell from his voice that it was Skoodge, but Dib turned around and peered over the back of the couch.

"Where did _you_ come from?" Dib asked, watching Skoodge carefully.

Skoodge shrugged. "I was just…around, I guess," He said, "So, you were talking about Foodcourtia?"

"Yeah~!" Keef informed, "We're going there for the Foodening!"

"Sounds good," Skoodge agreed. During the whole conversation Zim thought only of one thing. Blood. Zim could smell the hated scent. Sure, human blood candies were delicious, but Irken blood always meant bad things. Working as a scientist all those years made Zim wary of the smell. Too often he or another Irken lost blood and the stench was around for days. Even though it was bleached and taken care of and the smell should have been gone, Zim still smelled it for days. It never left him.

Until Earth. The Dib hardly ever played so rough that skin was broken during their fights over the years. And if it was, Zim was always too distracted to notice or care.

Skoodge smelled of blood, but not his blood, no, someone else's. It smelled sweet. "What happened?" Zim asked. He didn't really care, but he wanted a distraction from grim memories.

"N-Nothing," Skoodge said. He walked around and was about to sit next to Zim, then he caught Zim's stare. Skoodge's eyes widened with realization and he sat at the other end, near Dib. Skoodge didn't look bloody, so he must have washed himself. Though the smell remained, the dumbass should have used bleach.

[Whose blood is that?] Zim asked roughly in Irken. Skoodge seemed startle that Zim would revert to Irken so quickly.

[Tak's,] Skoodge replied, deciding to keep the conversation in Irken. Dib was pretty good at dealing with things, but he was still a smeet by Irken standards, he didn't need to hear about Tak.

[What did she do?] Zim asked, looking Skoodge over, not seeing any injuries.

[Well…it started at the Massive…] Skoodge began.

…

What the hell? Dib was mad at Zim so now he was talking in Irken? That was messed up. Dib wished he knew what they were talking about. Keef kept going on as though Skoodge had always been there and there weren't two aliens talking in a foreign language on his couch. "So, Dib," Keef said, after calling in the change of course for Foodcourtia, "Wanna play a video game?" Keef asked.

"I dunno Keef…" Dib sighed. How did Keef know about Foodcourtia? That hadn't come to mind yet. How come Keef, a fellow human, knew this place and Dib didn't? Dib glanced at Zim. He looked so serious, with his antennae erect and his eyes focused on Skoodge. For once, Dib wished those eyes were focused on him. But he blew it by ignoring Zim. But seriously, how could Zim be so calm about Earth being destroyed?

"Or maybe another movie~?" Keef asked, excited about another movie.

Dib sighed, giving in. "Fine, whatever." This was Keef's ship, so he'd do what Keef wanted. A movie would let Dib think without Keef's annoying habit of talking. Keef squealed again and went to his computer to set up another annoying movie. This time Dib let him do as he wanted, and when he sat in the chair on Dib's other side, Dib didn't even pay attention to what movie was playing. The androids seemed to recognize it. The brunette, Meiko, even rolled her eyes and pulled out a magazine. Len sat on the floor and started playing solitaire. Miku though, sat on the arm of Keef's chair and giggled at the title. Rin, too, smiled and sat on the floor between Dib's couch and Keef's chair. This piqued Dib's interest, so he looked up at the title as well.

Dib had actually never watched this movie before. He had seen all the trailers and such, but he'd never bothered with it. But the way that Miku and Rin looked excited, Dib wondered what the movie was like, so he paid a bit of attention.

…

Idiot. What had been Tak been thinking. You can't just invade the Massive. Especially not when Gaz was the head of it. Tak had been going after Zim? How did she even know Zim was on the Massive? Zim barely knew where he was. Tak had snuck aboard just as Skoodge had been leaving. Skoodge saw her and told his crew to wait for him, and he stuck around to see what Tak was doing on the Massive. When Gaz shot Tak, Skoodge took her and ran back to the loading bay to leave, but his crew had left him stranded without a way out. Two of the androids, Meiko and Miku, found him and took him to their ship, and ultimately to Keef's. Skoodge let Tak heal and now she was roaming aimlessly and unguided throughout the ship.

Even though someone who wanted extreme revenge on Zim was nearby, he wasn't the least bit afraid. He wasn't afraid of Tak the last time and he wasn't afraid this time. He would just kick her ass again…if they even met up, that is. It wasn't like Zim was going to go look for her or anything. He'd let her find her own way, or do whatever. If she wrecked the ship, that'd be fine too, it was Keef's. As long as Zim and Dib were out of the way, Tak could do as she pleased.

Zim looked coolly at Skoodge's worried and concerned face. His inner Irken Elite told him to chide Skoodge for showing weakness and caring too much for his bond mate. But something new, something Earthen, made him sympathize with Skoodge's position. Skoodge loved his bond mate, who probably didn't love anything. Didn't Zim love his bond mate? Zim chanced glancing at Dib again who seemed to be enjoying this new movie, or at least fascinated by it. All of a sudden Zim felt the need to declare what was his, to make the Earthling _know_ what Zim felt. Maybe Skoodge wasn't as stupid as he thought.

…

Keef just had to do it. He just had to pick an awesome sci-fi romance movie that was actually accurate for once. Dib was hooked to this movie. The characters seemed so real. And the romance was between a male alien and a female human. If he compared them, Dib was the girl again, but he continued watching the movie anyway. He was so wrapped up in the drama that he forgot about Zim and Skoodge's Irken conversation. In fact, Zim could have been staring straight at him the whole time and he wouldn't have noticed.

At the climax, the alien nearly died and the human girl started to weep as she tried her best to help. Earlier she had accidentally gotten the FBI called on him and they'd hunted him down. This part brought up pained memories for Dib. As the alien seemed to be taking his last breaths, the human vowed to find his home planet and take him there, but the alien told him not to. Dib hears the girl androids begin to cry and Keef seems about to as well. Keef grabbed Dib's hand and, surprisingly, he didn't pull away. Dib himself had to keep reminding himself it was just a dumb movie to keep the tears from welling up.

The human disobeyed the alien by driving them both off with his ship and into the galaxy. The movie ended with the ship getting more and more distant and disappearing into the stars. The credits started playing and Keef let out a breath. "That is so sweet~!" Sadly, Dib agrees with him, just not out loud. The girls don't hesitate to agree and they all start chatting about how romantic the ending is. The other girl that didn't watch can be heard sighing behind them. Len appeared to have left the room entirely.

…

As the credits of the movie were rolling by, Zim had begun to fall asleep. He didn't know why he was sleeping so much lately, but he figured it had to do with the dumb movie and Skoodge making him think deeply about stupid things. Anyway, it was stupid. Zim was almost all the way asleep when he heard a shuffling by the doorway. He ignored it, figuring that they would make themselves known.

Dib couldn't just sit there and not know though, so he peered over the back of the couch again and was extremely surprised with whom he saw. She was no longer wearing her armor or fancy Irken-made clothing. She was wearing striped stockings and a black dress. Her purple hair shined softly in the dim lighting. Dib was unable to make words. It wasn't just seeing her. It was the way she looked at Dib…her essence…it was so different. Not even in a bad way, it was like she was happier. She truly was glowing.

But Keef apparently didn't have the same trouble as Dib. He go up from his chair and beamed at her. "Gazzy~! I'm so glad you made it!" Gaz regarded Keef dully for a moment before looking back at Dib.

"Yes…Kaito brought me." She turned to Dib, "Hi, Dib. Sorry I couldn't come sooner…I was busy," She said timidly. That was strange…Gaz was never timid. And she wasn't even squinting. But it wasn't all that wrong either…not the way Dib always thought it would be…it was fitting.

"Uh…" Dib still couldn't make words. So he just watched her. She strolled around the couch and plopped right down next to Zim…much closer than Zim usually liked for anyone but Dib. Even Skoodge had been stared into sitting on the other side. Zim opened one eye groggily and stared at Gaz before closing it again and seeming to ignore her.

"Hello, Zim," Gaz said quietly. Zim grunted as way of acknowledgment. "You probably don't like me much…" Gaz said, much softer than usual. Zim shrugged ever so slightly. Dib commended him for being awake enough to respond to Gaz. "I never have thanked you have I…?" She said absently. She played with the edge of her dress for a moment thinking over her words. Zim looked like he was ignoring her again. "Thank you Zim…for always saving my brother's ass and giving him somewhat of a family when I'm not."

Zim opened both eyes a slit to watch Gaz carefully. When he decided she wasn't lying or trying to trick him, he hmm-ed before closing his eyes again. Gaz turned to look at Skoodge. "Sorry about…you know, screwing with you guys all the time…" Gaz said, wanting to apologize but not knowing what exactly she was sorry for.

Skoodge shrugged. "No problem…" He mumbled before looking at Dib with eyes that said "What the hell is she talking about?". Dib wished he knew. But now it was his turn.

"Dib…thank you," Gaz said simply, looking him in the eye before looking down again.

"For what?" Dib pressed.

"…For…" She stopped and thought about that, "Thank you…for you." Dib contemplated that. It didn't make sense, but Gaz was pregnant and seemed to be a little crazy at the moment, so whatever. At least she was thanking and apologizing instead of eviscerating and maiming.

Dib watched slightly feeling pity and slightly amused as Keef stared at Gaz expectantly, probably wanting an apology for being blown up so much, but nothing came. Gaz hardly even looked at Keef again. It was a little sad, but also funny. Just because it was Keef, and Dib really hated Keef.

All of this was fine with Dib, Gaz was perfectly fine now. But what she did next was a bit creepy. She slung her arm around Zim and snuggled close to him, completely waking him up and making him shudder for a moment. He stared at her incredulously, deciding whether or not to blow her up, before she started talking. "Zim~," She cooed.

"Y-Yes…" He answered shakily.

"You know I love you right…?" Gaz asked. Zim's eyes widened and glanced back and forth between Dib and Gaz for several minutes. Dib couldn't believe what Gaz just said. Forget the total goth she always was and how she'd never loved anything before. She just said she loved his boyfriend! No, not boyfriend…fiancée! Dib wanted so badly to get up and shove her away from Zim, but something inside stopped him. It was that little part that actually _used_ common since. It told him that Gaz was lying. So he waited, ready to pounce should Gaz make any advances on Zim.

"…y…yes…" Zim mumbled, barely getting the word out.

"Zim darling…?" Gaz cooed again. Zim made a questioning sound like he didn't want to talk, or couldn't and Gaz took that as the sign to go on. She suddenly took her arm and wrapped it tightly around Zim's neck, pulling him close against her. Her other hand went behind Zim to his back, where his pak was. Dib's heart raced as he stood abruptly. "When the fucking hell is this life-sucking demon crawling out of me?" Gaz growled, sounding much more like herself. Dib was slightly relieved, but pushed it side. He inched closer to Zim and Gaz.

Zim didn't seem too worried though, not that Dib noticed this at all, of course. He was still completely relaxed, as though he might still fall asleep. He looked Gaz in the eye and then closed his eyes in thought. "In the incubators on Irk it takes about two Earth years…" Zim answered.

"WHAT?" Gaz asked, closed her grasp on Zim ever tighter.

"Of course, the time a smeet is inside a living host is completely different. Seeing how it isn't being genetically upgraded or created artificially…I have no idea," Zim answered calmly. Gaz tightened her hold on Zim and sent her arm further up Zim's back, apparently doing something to his pak because he squeaked slightly.

"Tell me space-boy, now," Gaz demanded coldly.

"Okay, okay. I estimate a month or two, probably a month and a half," Zim replied, less calm than before.

"Two months?" She echoed, finally letting go of Zim.

"Approximately…of course, natural birth in Irkens is extremely rare…all our smeets are artificially created using genes from warriors and invaders and splicing them…which takes time. Then there's enhancing them to Irken standards…then issuing a pak, which is pretty instant actually," Zim explained, rambling on and on, regaining his calm composure.

"Wait…a pak?" Gaz asked, "Will my baby need one?" Panic formed in her eyes and she clutched Zim's arm. Again he reacted calmly and swiftly.

"No, it'll have human genes too, so it'll be able to sustain it's body on it's own. Plus the human ability to store information in the brain will be there…so only if you want it enhanced, a pak isn't necessary," Zim told her, calming down her panic quickly, but building anger.

"My child does _not_ need enhancing," She said sternly. Zim shrugged and closed his eyes again. But Gaz had other plans that didn't include him sleeping. "Zim…I'm a month in, so I'm getting really close, I think…I feel it…and…and…" Zim glared with one eye, meaning for her to get on with it. "I need _you _to deliver my child."

Zim stared at Gaz with wide eyes and Dib even had to sit down. Zim…deliver Gaz's kid? That was unheard of. They pretty much hated each other. Gaz had just put him in a headlock. What was she thinking?

"I'm sure Skoodge will do fine…" Zim mumbled, looking the other way.

"No," Gaz said forcefully, "You'll do it. I'm not asking you, Zim." Zim closed his eyes and 'Humff'ed, which wasn't really agreeing, but it wasn't disagreeing either, he didn't seem to have the energy to argue with her. Dib wondered what the hell happened to Zim over the past weeks to make him so compliant. Especially with Gaz.

Gaz, now satisfied, wandered over to a chair on the other side of the room. Dib sat up and resituated himself next to Zim, who didn't seem to notice people moving around next to him. "Zim…?" Dib called, leaning into Zim's antennae. Zim mumbled something low under his breath but Dib couldn't catch it. "What Zim?" Dib whispered.

"Are you still mad at Zim?" Zim asked quietly with his eyes still closed and his antennae hanging lazily over his head.

"For what?" Dib asked, wrapped an arm around Zim's lithe body.

"For insulting your ignorant, decimated people," Zim replied. Dib thought about that. They'd both been through a lot lately. He didn't want Zim to be away from him, not after so long without him. But…Zim didn't understand why Dib was so hurt over Earth being destroyed. Zim would probably happily murder his whole planet. He'd already been told of the monsters Zim created and how he killed two of his world leaders on accident. And even that he thought was an accomplishment. But…Zim didn't know better…yet.

"I don't know…" Dib sighed. Zim shrugged as though he expected that kind of answer. He leaned into Dib's arm and rested his head on Dib's chest.

"Indecisive human," Zim mumbled before dozing off to sleep. Dib wrapped his other arm protectively around his alien. He almost started to go to sleep as well, but he remembered that there were other people in the room. Keef was talking animatedly to Miku and Rin about the movie they just watched, Skoodge was staring off into space, absolutely bored, and Gaz somehow managed to find a Game Slave and was playing with it.

"Hey Skoodge," Dib whispered, careful not to wake Zim, "What were you guys talking about?"

Skoodge seemed to wake up from some trance and looked at Dib surprised. He glanced at Zim in Dib's arms and got this sad look on his face. "Oh, you know, guy stuff…"

Was Dib not a guy too? Damn it, Dib thought, I'm the girl again. "Come on Skoodge, we both know how ridiculous Zim is sometimes…I bet it's no big deal," Dib said, trying to make Skoodge tell him.

Skoodge looked like he was trying to process that. "Well…the thing is, Dib…"

"Don't," Zim mumbled. Crap…Zim wasn't asleep after all. Skoodge suddenly looked very afraid. For some reason, Dib didn't think Zim even cared if Dib knew, he was just trying to keep interacting…keep going by denying Dib information. It sounded crazy, but that's what Dib heard in Zim's voice.

"Go on Skoodge, what is it?" Dib asked. Skoodge glanced at Dib then at Zim and back and forth, a worried expression on his face.

"…Go on…" Zim mumbled, even quieter than before. He dug himself deeper into Dib's body and went quiet again. Dib wasn't sure if he was asleep or not, but he decided to be quiet anyway. He glanced at Skoodge with expectant look.

"Um…" Skoodge looked like he couldn't decide what to say.

"Tak is aboard the ship," Zim started for him. Dib glanced down at the supposedly sleeping Irken in his arms.

"Y-Yeah…Tak came aboard the ship with me," Skoodge said, blushing.

"Oh…Shit, should we try to capture her? Shouldn't we be doing something besides sitting around?" Dib said, his voice rising as he moved to get up. Zim reached up and grabbed Dib roughly by the collar.

"Stay where you are, human. The Tak girl is of no importance," Zim mumbled, "She is of no threat…" Dib sat back down and glanced at Skoodge questioningly.

"Yeah…she's injured and doesn't even know you guys are aboard…I'd guess she's just searching for an escape pod right now," Skoodge said, looking off in the other direction sadly.

"Oh…" Dib mumbled, seeing why Zim didn't bother to clue him in. It was worthless information, Tak was aboard but not dangerous. Skoodge glanced at Gaz and sighed, she didn't seem to be paying any attention to their conversation. Keef was oblivious, talking his head off about movies and scenes and romantic stuff. It made Dib slightly squeamish.

"Uh, Keef," Dib said, a little louder.

"Yeah~!" Keef said, perking up and staring at Dib with those obnoxiously green eyes.

"How long 'til we get to Foodcourtia?" Dib asked, wincing at all the _happy_ that was staring at him.

"Oh, another week," Keef said, happiness practically spilling out of his ears. Everyone in the room besides Keef groaned, but again Keef was oblivious and merely smiled.

"Keef," Zim mumbled tiredly, "You said you'd finished all my past plans, right?"

Keef's eyes glowed with happiness, "Yes," He chirped. His role model was finally speaking directly to him, even though he had his eyes closed and was on the brink of passing out.

"Do you have any of them on board with us?" Zim asked.

"Yes~!" Keef told him.

"I want to see them," Zim decided. He didn't ask and didn't let room for Keef to say, 'no I want those to be private'. It was a demand, and Keef was more than willing to show him.

"Of course~! Come with me," Keef said, standing up. Meiko finally looked up from where she was reading a magazine, suddenly interested. Miku and Rin looked excited too. Dib wondered why. "Come'on, Zim," Keef said, getting up and striding to the door.

Zim wearily managed to stand and make it to the door. Dib followed and was about to go with them, before Zim stopped him. "Dib…there are some things I planned that you might not want to see." As Dib began to protest, Zim added, "Things _I _don't want _you_ to see." Dib tried to come up with something to say to that, but couldn't. Who knew what Zim could make.

Dib leaned in and kissed Zim's cheek. "Don't let Keef seduce you…" Dib warned, reminding them both of Jack for a moment. Zim made a face and stuck out his tongue in disgust.

"As if he could," Zim said defiantly. Dib smiled and watched Zim leave with Keef and two of his androids. Dib returned to the couch and sat where Zim had been. Rin came and sat next to him. This really seemed like a family now. Everyone was gathered together. Dib, Zim, Gaz, Rin, and Skoodge. The sounds of dying pigs coming from Gaz's came made Dib smiled. Everything seemed as it should be…except for one thing.

"Skoodge…what all happened when I wasn't around…what did you and Zim do?" Dib asked, getting more curious the longer he thought about it, Zim hadn't told him yet what happened. Dib thought back to when he last saw Zim before he thought he'd died. "Zim isn't still sick is he?" Dib asked with rising panic. Rin's bright eyes also flicked to Skoodge, obviously she was remembering as well and also wanted to know.

"W-Well…I don't know…" Skoodge said nervously, "Me and Zim escaped the ship before it exploded and…we eventually found this doctor. He did the best he could and he helped Zim a lot…but Zim left before he got all the way better. He left with Mau, which couldn't be good. I have no idea where Mau is now…" Skoodge looked worried about that fact but continued anyway, "I spoke with Jack Harkness a while before you showed up and he said he was with Zim for a day or so before he ran off, leaving without Mau, who apparently killed Jack's whole team…"

"S-So…why didn't you tell me Zim was alive when I found you?" Dib asked, getting annoyed.

"Because he wasn't with us…so we didn't know if even _was _still alive," Skoodge explained, "See…the kind of sickness Zim had…it was pretty bad Dib, he had to have constant treatment…and when he left he missed a lot of the treatment. He probably suffered badly from neglecting that."

Dib stared at the table with the plant in it. So Skoodge didn't tell him the truth because he, himself, didn't know if it was still true. Zim could have died… "Do you know where he was after he left Jack's?" Dib asked, still curious. How the hell did Zim end up in some corner of the Massive? Skoodge shrugged and looked away, ashamed that he couldn't keep up with Zim after all these years.

"I have no idea…but there's something you should know…" Skoodge paused, summoning the will to give bad news. "Dib, I don't know if Zim's still suffering this or not…but when I last saw him before today…he was having major hallucinations."

"Hallucinations…?" Dib echoed. What the hell would cause that?

"Yeah…He kept seeing an Irken woman named Kita," Skoodge informed, "She died long before any of you were born."

"…oh…" Dib mumbled.

"He's not," Gaz said suddenly, startling Dib and Skoodge. Rin didn't even flinch, she just looked at Gaz curiously. "My men fixed that little glitch in his system just yesterday."

"R-Really?" Dib asked, staring at Gaz. Gaz put her game down on her lap and looked Dib in the eye.

"Dib…I found Zim on the streets about to die. That's why he was in the Massive. I was fixing him. He would have died otherwise. My men saw what was wrong and cured him," Gaz told him, not once blinking when she spoke. She was completely serious.

"…Th-Thank you, Gaz…" Dib whispered, on the brink of crying now. Gaz had fixed his broken lover. Cured his sickness. Maybe Gaz was finally starting to show some heart.

Gaz looked down and away for a moment. "Though…I have no idea what set him off the last time…"

"The last time?" Dib questioned, peering at her.

"Zim had this…sort of panic attack or something…" Gaz explained, "But I have no idea what he saw to cause it…I don't think it was Kita…although she may have had some part in it. Whatever it was must have been pretty bad…" Gaz's eyes seemed to be lost in memory, gazing off into some past thought. She flinched at a remembrance. "He looked pretty bad, Dib. It was…it was scary…"

Dib observed the worry and concern that actually showed on Gaz's face and hoped he never had to see what she was seeing in her mind. "But…he's better now…right?" Dib asked. Gaz kept looking into space, not moving.

"God, I hope so…" Gaz mumbled.

"What if he's still sick? What can we do?" Dib asked, "I mean…he's just been dragging around like he's about to pass out or something."

"We only fixed him yesterday, Dib, he's probably still rebuilding himself on the inside," Gaz said quietly, "He just needs a couple more days of rest before he's completely back to normal."

Dib let Gaz's words soak in. She was probably right. Zim just needed to relax for a while, all this stuff about saving the world and death and stuff was tiring, even more so when you're as sick as Zim was. Zim would be okay…Dib tried to convince himself of that, repeating the phrase over and over in his mind as the rest of the room fell silent…Zim would be okay, Zim would be okay, Zim would be okay…He would…yes, he would.

…

…

…

…

A/N

Okay, so kind of a boring chapter with minimal scene changes for once. Sorry it took so long! I'm lazy and well…the holidays are hectic, shopping and lights and sounds and baking and people and lights, I said that already, see what the holidays have done to me!

Oh well…I think I survived, I hope the rest of you have survived the holidays as well :D

Happy Christmas everybody! I meant to have this done yesterday…on Christmas day…but fate wouldn't have it. Hope you all had a very good Christmas filled with cookies and people and lights and shopping and sounds and baking and lights….ahhh!

Yes. ^cough cough^ Thank you for reading, it pleasures me to know people like my little story :) It would amaze and mystify me if you review as well, and the next chapter would come faster too if you do. Well, maybe. Haha.

Happy Christmas, have a good New Year too. R&R Thanks :D


	14. Mate

Chapter Fourteen: Mate

So many weapons. Keef had a whole hangar filled with weapons of all kinds. He hadn't been kidding around when he said he'd finished Zim's plans. He did every one of them and Zim remembered them all. Right down to the barely thought up ones that he hadn't expected to even work. And they were all huge, so much that they took up a lot of room. The hangar was a maze of weaponry and inventions Zim had dreamt up. In all honesty, Dib could probably see this stuff and not worry, but Zim had feared he'd forgotten something. Thought up something horrible and specific to Dib and forgotten it, and Keef would've made it anyway. He knew Keef would, Keef was obsessed, Zim designed Keef to be that way. Zim had made Keef into a monster, but he wasn't so sure he wasn't proud of that work. Seeing all the amazing weaponry around him, Zim was a bit glad Keef was obsessed.

"So…all of this stuff works?" Zim asked, gazing around him as they walked. Somewhere along the way the androids had gone off the do their own things as Zim and Keef inspected machinery.

"Oh yeah~! It's all working thanks to your amazing designs~!" Keef complimented.

Zim's ego boosted. "Yeah, well, I am amazing, you know."

"Oh yeah, so amazing, you make everything worth doing, Zim," Keef said.

Zim's ego boosted even more, so much that he didn't notice Keef steadily getting closer. "Oh, Zim, we're gonna have so much fun~!" Keef exclaimed.

"Eh…sure. Yeah," Zim said uneasily, wondering what Keef meant.

"Oh! I know one you'll just _love_~!" Keef yelled, taking Zim's hand and dragging him to another sector. The machinery here looked completely foreign to Zim. These weren't of his design, so who's were they? Certainly not Keef's. "Here it is!"

Keef stopped them in front of a large, old-looking computer. Zim took the moment to yank his hand away from Keef's. Keef stared up at the machine with love in his eyes.

"What the flirk is it?" Zim asked.

"It's an invention I found in Professor Membrane's lab, it takes the DNA from two people and splits them together," Keef said excitedly, clasping his hands together. Zim stared at the dusty hunk of wires and computer parts, thinking that this seemed a lot like Irken incubators. Suddenly and without warning, Keef wrapped his arms tightly around Zim. "Oh, Zimmeh, we're gonna be so happy~! I can see it now, our little green-skinned, red-haired kids~!"

"W-WHAT?" Zim yelled, trying to squirm away from Keef. "What the fuck are you talking about?" Keef somehow managed to hold onto Zim.

"About our love, Zim!"

"I don't love you!" Zim hissed, squirming harder.

"Yes you do, don't you remember?" Keef asked. Zim had no idea what he was talking about. "It was shortly after you got here! I remember it so well…you were the first one to ever want me as your friend!"

"That was just to look normal, and I told you your duties were over, you freak!" Zim yelled.

"But Zim…you knew who I was, remember? I know you chose me because you knew I wasn't human either. I didn't want to admit it earlier in front of Dib, but you knew I wasn't human. That's why you chose me, because I was different," Keef explained in his weird way. "The moment I saw you all those years ago, I knew you were Irken…I just didn't say anything. But when you chose me as your friend…I was so _happy_!"

Wasn't human, eh? That explained why Keef didn't seem to die no matter how much they threw at him. Zim really chose him because he was the most durable of the humans. It was just Irken to chose the best of what was available. And at the time that was Keef. Maybe if Dib hadn't been such a jerk when Zim arrived…maybe they would've been friends all along. Zim shook his head and snapped to the present, this was no time to reminisce. "Keef, you idiot. If you're not human…what are you?" Zim asked, struggling to free his hands.

"Silly Zim, you know what I am~! But I'll say it anyway, since that's probably why you asked, to hear it out loud. I'm a Meekrob," Keef admitted, still fondling Zim.

Zim froze in place and stopped trying to free himself. Keef…a Meekrob? "What do you mean…why…why were you on Earth if you're a Meekrob?" Zim asked.

Keef suddenly got this far off look and looked down, away from Zim. "I…I don't know. I…was a soldier for them…I think. It was so long ago…I was just starting life. And…they sent me to Earth and told me to study it…" Keef said quietly. Zim caught on to what he was saying though. Keef had made a bad soldier, so they sent him away. Just like The Tallest had done to Zim, except way earlier on.

Zim thought this over. Keef being a Meekrob made since. He recalled that the Meekrob had a weird way of choosing mates, different from what humans did. Humans chose each other in a mutual agreement. Meekrob never really cared about who they mated with, seeing how they were all made of pure energy anyway, and the outcome would be exactly the same…another ball of pure energy with the power to change into any form they wished. So Keef must have taken Zim's ever so slight friendship with him as an invitation to being life-mates. That was ridiculous, Keef was pure energy and could only mate with another Meekrob. What was Keef thinking?

Though… "Keef…how old were you when you leaders sent you to Earth?" Zim asked, still uncomfortable with Keef hanging on him, but slowly getting used to it.

"Um…I think…" Keef looked up, trying to remember. "I think, a few days after I was born…" Zim sighed, poor Keef. He was totally screwed up for life. Having Meekrob instincts and yet having stupid Earth things programmed into his head as well. "It was sooo cool when I got to Earth, Zim~! I was just energy, so I just changed my form to one of the Earth children I saw…then I guess it wasn't so cool. Everyone pretty much ignored me…until you came! Then you saw me! It was so awesome, Zim~!"

Zim stood still and let Keef have his little moment before doing anything. If Zim was honestly the only one who'd ever cared for the brat, then that definitely wasn't right. "Keef…" Zim sighed. Keef held onto Zim tighter, not giving a chance for Zim to escape. "Just how old are you now, in Earth years?"

"Um…Eight…I think," Keef said slowly, as though unsure. Damn, Zim thought, that's exactly how long he'd been on Earth. They must have arrived at about the same time.

"I can't do this with you," Zim told him, Keef stared into his eyes in confusion. "Keef, I love Dib."

"I know, I know~! I love Dib too! That's why I want you to be friends!" Keef exclaimed, looking up into Zim's eyes.

"But I love Dib as a life-mate, Keef," Zim explained. Zim watched, as the happiness seemed to flood out of Keef's eyes.

"But…but…I loved you first!" Keef yelled, his cheeks turning red.

"That's true…but you're pretty young to decide you're life-mate," Zim pointed out. Keef may have changed his appearance to be older along with Zim and Dib, but he was still considered a smeet…among all three of their civilizations. Meekrob normally didn't choose their partner until twenty-five Earth years. And for humans it varied, and Irken's never had mates.

"But…I love you!" Keef burst. Zim sighed as wetness formed in Keef's eyes. Damn smeet….

…

She could smell him, he was so close…the scent was on the tip of her tongue. Damn Skoodge, lying to her. Zim was still here, he was so close she could taste it. She rounded the corner to see her target and at long last…her target was in her sights. He was just standing there with the red-haired human doing that human thing…_hugging_ was it? She lifted her gun and carefully set it straight at Zim. She caressed the gun slightly, it was a Subatomic Particle Disintegrator, Vortian-made of course. A SPD could shoot through anything, it was originally made to kill their main enemy, the Meekrob. She'd stolen it just for this moment, for this special target dead ahead.

Just as Tak's finger was pressing the trigger, the red-haired boy locked eyes with her and shed a single tear before doing something that epically pissed Tak off.

…

Dib laid down his final card and looked up at Skoodge happily. Dib won again, and Skoodge looked completely confused about it. "How come I never heard of this game when we were on Earth?" Skoodge asked.

"Because you're stupid," Gaz replied. Dib was going to say something to that, but decided against it. Speed was a pretty simple came, you just had to be fast to lay your cards and draw them, as the name implied. He didn't think Skoodge was stupid though, it took Dib a long time to learn it too.

Dib shuffled the cards as he readjusted himself. After thirty minutes of sitting cross-legged on the couch, his legs had fallen asleep. Skoodge seemed to be in the same situation. "Hey, how 'bout we do something else?" Dib asked. Speed was started to get boring, especially since Gaz wouldn't play with them. Rin wasn't even here to provide nice conversation; she'd gone off to find Len, wherever he went.

"What else is there to do?" Skoodge asked, standing up to stretch.

"We could look for a kitchen, I'm starved," Dib said, laying the cards on the couch. How long had it been since he'd eaten?

"I second the motion," Gaz muttered, getting up and moving to the door without taking her eyes off her game. Dib sighed, at least Gaz seemed to be back to normal. She wasn't smiling and she was back to squinting and muttering everything.

"Might as well," Skoodge agreed. Dib nodded and they all left to find the kitchen. Though, in a Zim-designed ship, who knew where that might be.

…

Zim saw the look in Keef's eyes. Keef was staring off behind Zim at something with malice. Keef looked determined and as a tear finally fell, Keef quickly switched their positions. Only a true Meekrob could do something like that so quickly. And then as soon as Keef was behind Zim, the room turned bright red and a loud crack of thunder sounded and Keef and Zim were thrown across the room, slamming into machines.

Zim looked around, to see what was going on and saw Tak with a gun at the other side of the room. She was laying on her back with the gun a few feet away on the ground, the sonic shock the gun caused must have thrown her back too. Zim looked around for Keef, but didn't see him anywhere. Paranoid, Zim started looking under pieces of broken machinery looking for him, but he was nowhere. Zim got up and went to Tak, inspecting the gun. He froze in place when he saw what it was. The only gun in the universe that could kill a Meekrob without a trace…and it had done it's job well. Zim was almost proud of the Irken-Vortian technology, but remembered what it had just done. But really…was this something to be sad about…? Zim decided to think about it later and check on Tak.

When Zim rolled her over, he saw that a small metal pin had been thrust into Tak's pak. He took it and wrenched it out slowly. Tak seemed to be passed out, so Zim picked her up in his arms. She was slightly smaller than him now, and much lighter than he remembered. Strange what time, foreign planets, and growth drugs do to people. Zim laughed inwardly at that though.

He left the gun where it was and started to head back to where the others were. Skoodge would want to see this.

…

"Just admit it already, idiot," Gaz hissed, "We're lost."

"N-no we're not," Dib said ignorantly, "I bet it's just around the corner."

"That's what you said fifteen corners ago," Skoodge pointed out. Dib sighed heavily, giving Skoodge a pointed glare to say, 'You're not helping.' Skoodge merely shrugged.

Dib rolled his eyes and kept walking. Hoping to god that the next corner would at least let them know where they were. He didn't quite want to know if Gaz was back to making people _pay_ with _pain_ yet.

But when they rounded the corner, the sight before them completely shocked them. Zim was walking down the hall, perfectly at peace carrying a passed out Tak in his arms; Tak had a small spot of dried blood on her forehead. When Zim noticed Dib, Skoodge and Gaz staring at him he stopped and smiled slightly. He held Tak slightly away from him, as though trying to hand her off.

"I found your mate, I think she's dead," Zim said, conveying absolutely no emotion whatsoever.

Skoodge made a startled sound and ran to Zim's side, taking Tak in his own hands, checking to see if she was alive. After a minute he sighed in relief. "I think she's okay, just passed out."

"Oh yeah," Zim said, as though remembering something, he pulled out a small metal stick, "This was sticking out of her pak, I think it may have punctured something."

Skoodge took the stick in one hand and made an annoyed face. "Crap…I don't know anyone who knows about paks…" Skoodge mumbled.

"I do, but I'm pretty sure they got killed…" Zim said, looking up in thought. Skoodge grunted and looked at Tak lovingly.

"Do you know where the kitchen is?" Dib asked. Zim stared at him blankly for a second before nodding. Dib went over and linking arms with Zim and let him lead them off. Gaz followed behind them.

"Morons…" Gaz muttered under her breath. No one responded.

"So where's Keef?" Dib asked.

"Dead," Zim said.

"R-Really?" Dib asked, almost shocked. Keef was pretty damn hard to kill.

"Yup," Zim said peacefully.

"Are you really sure, I mean…he doesn't die easily…" Dib said, pressing Zim to tell him what happened.

"Tak killed him with a SPD. Keef is a Meekrob. The only way to kill a Meekrob is with an SPD…so he's dead…" Zim said, after a pause adding, "I think she was aiming for me though…"

"Of course she was…" Skoodge mumbled, only half paying attention.

"So…He's really dead," Dib said, blown away.

"Yup, like I said three times now. That's how Tak got hurt too…she was thrown back and must have landed on the pin," Zim said, explaining further.

"Oh…" Dib thought about that. He looked down at Zim's impassive face. He seemed zoned out, like he wasn't even thinking about what they were talking about. "Zim…are you okay?"

"…I think…I didn't really hit much when I landed," Zim said, looking up at Dib's concerned expression.

"No, that's not what I mean," Dib sighed, realizing Zim wouldn't understand what he meant. Zim's face furrowed with confusion as he stared at Dib.

"What _do_ you mean…?" Zim asked with determination.

"He means are you emotionally compromised," Gaz grunted with agitation, probably frustrated with having to listen to their chatting.

"Oh," Zim said, looking away to think about it. Dib let him think and concentrated on what they would do now that the "Captain" wasn't here.

"Where are the androids that went with you?" Dib asked. Zim shrugged uncaringly. Dib sighed but didn't bother him with questions, they'd probably show up eventually.

After a few minutes of silence Dib got bored again. "So…_are_ you okay, Zim?" He asked again.

"…yeah…I guess," He mumbled. Dib looked at Zim very closely.

"No, you're not," He said. Zim turned his head to glare at him.

"If you knew the answer, why did you ask?" Zim said with true confusion and annoyance.

"Um…to see what you said, I think," Dib stammered. Zim seemed to deem that a reasonable excuse as he faced forward with a passive expression again. "What happened, Zim?" Dib asked, still not understanding what was going on.

Zim narrowed his maroon eyes. "The boy…Keef…before he died," Zim paused, thinking over his words, "He said he loved me."

"Well, that's not a surprise," Dib mumbled. Zim gave him a pointed look and Dib shut up.

"But it was more than that…he loved _only _me. He…he wanted to mate with me…" Zim explained, "He was banished from Planet Meekrob…just like the Tallest banished me…"

"…Oh…" Dib breathed, getting it a little more.

"And the thing is…he was just a smeet…" Zim whispered, sounding hurt inside, "He was eight Earth years, Dib, _eight_!" Dib remained silent, knowing these things often happened in wartime. "When he was born, his leaders abandoned him…sent him to Earth, and _I _was the only one to ever show him kindness, and I was just using him!"

"…" Out of the corner of Dib's eye he could see Skoodge with his head bowed, looking away. It seemed he understood what Zim was saying very well.

"…I understand why The Tallest banished me, I mean…I was a nuisance. I ruined Impending Doom one, and caused blackouts and killed world leaders…but Keef. He didn't do anything! Not a damn thing!" Dib watched Zim as tears formed in his eyes, but Zim didn't seem to notice. "And now he's dead, and he was only eight! Fucking _eight_! How can _anyone_ die that young?" Zim asked rhetorically.

"People die all the time, whiner, so get over it," Gaz snapped from behind them. Zim took that in and looked down.

"Zim, don't listen to her, she's mean," Dib consoled.

"But she's right," Skoodge muttered. Dib glared at Skoodge, but this time Skoodge glared back. "This is war…and in war people die all the time, even smeets."

Dib looked down, almost ashamed. He clung to Zim helplessly as Zim clung right back. He left it at that and didn't bring the subject back up again. It was useless.

…

Zim ended up taking them to the control room instead of the kitchen, which peeved Dib a bit, but he knew they had to have a plan. Skoodge set Tak carefully on a bench while he called up the operator of the ship. "Kaito here," the blue-haired android hair cheerfully.

"Um, the captain…Keef, he's dead," Skoodge said nervously.

"Oh, okay. You wanna be captain now?" Kaito asked, as though Keef's death meant nothing.

"S-sure," Skoodge stuttered.

"What do we do now, captain?" Kaito asked. Skoodge looked back at Dib and Zim, who both shrugged.

"I'll…let you know," Skoodge said slowly. Kaito saluted with a smile before cutting transmission. "So…like he said, what now?" Skoodge asked.

"We should make our own army," Gaz suggested.

"You're just power-hungry," Dib mumbled.

"I think that's a good idea," Zim agreed. Dib stared at him. "Well…that way we can help end the war without having to choose sides…"

"That…actually makes sense," Skoodge said, shocked that Zim could make sense when thinking ahead was involved.

"Yeah, it is," Dib agreed, smiling at Zim.

"It was _my_ idea," Gaz reminded them.

"So?" Zim asked. Gaz glared at him, shutting him up.

Suddenly Tak bolted straight up, surprising everyone. "T-Tak?" Skoodge called. Tak turned to stare at him with child-like eyes.

"Skoodge!" She yelled with anger. Wait…that wasn't anger in her voice…it was…it was joy. Tak jumped up and ran at Skoodge and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Oh Skoodge! It was so dark and cold! I missed you!"

Everyone, included Gaz, gasped and stared at Tak as she wept into Skoodge's shoulder. Skoodge was motionless for a minute, but then wrapped his arms around her and slowly began to smiled. Dib smiled and snuggled up to Zim, happy for them both. He wasn't sure where this sudden relationship suddenly sprouted from, but he was sure someone would inform him about it later. About her sudden change in personality, it seemed to be a result of the pin in her pak, it must have ruptured personality information. Oh well, this Tak was much better than the other one.

"So, what you wanna do?" Dib whispered to Zim. Zim looked up in thought for a moment.

"Sleep," He finally decided. Dib laughed.

"Me too," He agreed, "Do you know where bedrooms are around here?" Dib asked. Zim nodded wearily. Dib reached over and interlocked fingers with Zim lovingly as Zim rested his head on Dib's shoulder.

Dib returned to watching Skoodge and Tak, they were whispering to each other now and Dib thought it was awesome. Skoodge finally had someone like Dib did. Skoodge and Tak turned to then and beamed. "Guess what?" Skoodge said mysteriously.

Before they had the chance to say anything, Tak burst out and told them. "We're getting married!" She squealed with happiness, jumping into Skoodge's arms.

"We were getting married first!" Zim yelled, just as loud, but not as happy. Zim hesitated then stared at Tak and Skoodge in confusion. "Aren't you already bonded anyway?"

Skoodge shrugged. "That was pair bonding for DNA on Irk, we like Earth weddings better." Tak nodded animatedly.

"Everyone hold on a minute," Gaz said, getting something from her pocket. It looked like a remote for something. She pushed it and waited. Everyone heard a squealing from down the hall and Gir suddenly pealed into the room and stood at Gaz's feet.

"Yes, my master," Gir said, saluting her.

"HEY! I'm your master, Gir!" Zim yelled. Dib nudged him to shut up. Zim leaned back on Dib and pouted.

"Gir, those two are getting married," Gaz said, pointing at Tak and Skoodge. Then to them she said, "There, that's my wedding gift." Then she went back to her game.

Gir screamed then hugged Tak, oblivious to the fact that she'd attacked his master before. "We's gonna make a sandcastle and a sammich and have pizza and watch a movie and eat waffles and…" Gir rambled, not stopping there.

Dib and Zim tuned it out as Tak and Skoodge actually looked like they were paying attention and considering the random suggestions.

…

"Hey, Red," Purple said suddenly.

"What?"

"Where's Gaz?" He asked. Red looked thoughtful before answering.

"I dunno," Red replied.

"Does it really matter?" Purple asked, he didn't want to freak out if it wasn't worth it.

"I don't think so," Red muttered uncaringly.

"Okay," Purple said, turning back to his plate of nachos.

…

"So," Dib said, piping up again, "When are you guys gonna get married?"

Skoodge sat on a bench now with Tak in his arms. "OH! As soon as possible," Tak answered. Skoodge nodded happily. Dib smiled at them then turned to Zim to discuss their own wedding, but Zim was asleep. It wasn't even the usual kind of sleep where you can't tell it their sleeping or just resting, Zim was most definitely asleep.

"I think we can decide what to do in the morning," Dib said, "It's been a long day." Tak nodded in agreement. Dib got Zim to rouse enough to lead them to the bedrooms where they laid down and Dib watched Zim continue his peaceful sleep before drifting off himself.

…

Nikki watched them through the camera screen. They thought they were so peaceful now, so safe, so warm. They were wrong, dead wrong. She laughed as she watched. A cold, almost mechanical hand touched her shoulder. "Nikki?" Kaito called.

"Yes, love," She responded.

"It's late…" Kaito said gloomily, "We can plan our conquest tomorrow…"

Nikki sighed, but she knew Kaito wouldn't budge on his decision. After all, it was his plan to lead Tak down a hall to where Zim and Keef were. Nikki hadn't known what exactly would happen, but she was extremely pleased with the resulting dead captain. Now the idiots were piloting and lucky for her they were easily manipulated. She chuckled, the drama of this place was simply thrilling.

…

…

A/N

This chapter is too short in my opinion. XP And Keef's death wasn't awesome enough. But…whatever, I'm tired, I'm not redoing it. It's almost over! The next chapter is the epilogue. And because I don't feel satisfied, I'm going to write a third part :) but then it's officially over after that one. –M–

Oh also, just so you know, the second movie in the last chapter, I made it up. But if I do see a movie like that, I will let you guys know :3

I…don't think I have anything else to say, except that it's 2:13 in the morning…my usual post time now. Please Review, it would make my day all happy and fuzzy :3


	15. EpilogueHappy

Chapter 15: Epilogue-Happy

The wedding was held within two days inside of the ship. Tak had wanted to plan a huge wedding several months away, but then remembered she killed almost everyone she knew growing up. So she giggled and set her heart on a closer date. No one really cared what Tak did as long as guns weren't involved.

Gaz volunteered to be the one to marry them saying, "I'm still the Queen of Earth, I can do what I want." Zim and Dib exchanged glances and decided not to tell anyone that Earth was no more. Maybe they would say later, but for now, this was a happy occasion.

They held it in a big reception room in the Ship. Everyone aboard the ship attended, even the androids, though Meiko seemed very disgruntled about having to come. Despite the people she didn't know, Tak was extremely happy. It was like all of Keef's happiness had flooded into her. Even when some things went wrong, like Skoodge remembering he couldn't dance, she was still happy as can be, even attempting to show Skoodge how to dance properly.

Dib wished he'd had a camera, the wedding had been pretty cute. Skoodge had worn some black suit that was sharper in detail than Earth suits. Gir had gone down the isle dropping something that looked like flower petals, but when Dib picked one up it disintegrated into his hand. Easy cleanup at least. Then Tak had gone down, giggling the whole time. She looked kinda pretty in her flowing black dress. The dress had been backless to highlight her pak. When the time came, it was Mini-moose who brought the rings to the happy couple, Tak giggled and said how cute Mini-moose was with two rings on his head. Directly after the ceremony, Tak turned and hugged Mini-moose, declaring that he was now their love child. No one argued with her, Mini-moose seemed very happy about it, in fact.

At the after party, Dib discovered that Irken dancing was quite fascinating, of course Zim didn't want to dance though. But that wasn't unexpected, and Dib wasn't hurt about it either. Most of the dancing was done by Gir though, who took over the floor by break-dancing. Zim had no idea what Gir was doing, but everyone else thought it was awesome. Gaz didn't dance or even really participate. But she did manage to access a photo capability in her Game Slave and take a picture of Tak and Skoodge.

Overall, Dib thought it was a success. Everyone had fun, even Meiko, who hadn't wanted to come. As soon as she found the beer, she danced and sang and had tons of fun with everyone. Everyone was having a good time, that is until someone unexpected dropped by.

Lights went off and the computer announced the arrival of a 'guest', though Tak hadn't invited anyone. Dib made sure to keep a good grip on Zim's wrist to keep him from running off to find the 'guest'. Everyone waited as silence grew. Finally someone stepped through the door carrying a box. Dib barely recognized him because of how long it'd been, but he still knew that faux face.

"MAU!" Tak screamed, running up to hug him, barely letting him breath. Mau seemed equally as happy, hugging her back.

"Crazy little Irken…" Skoodge mumbled with a smile. Zim smiled too, glad that Mau was at least okay after Zim abandoned him. Dib smiled and wrapped both arms around Zim's waist lovingly, watching the little reunion before them. But the sound of a door opening surprised him.

"_You_," Zim hissed, staring at the door.

"Hey, don't be so pessimistic," Jack called across the room, "This is a wedding after all."

Dib found himself feeling hate towards Jack as well, he'd taken Zim away from him, even if it was only one night. "Who invited you?" Dib asked.

"Um…" Skoodge edged behind Tak. "I invited Mau…" Skoodge said, barely above a whisper.

"And Mau invited me," Jack said proudly. Jack then stepped over to the bride and took one of her hands in both of his, enticing a giggle from her, which Dib had to admit was pretty easy to do. "Hello there beautiful. My name's Captain Jack Harkness, what's yours?" Tak giggled another time before Skoodge decided it was time to man up and he stepped over to intercept Jack. But before Skoodge could do anything, Mau bit Jack's ear, making him yell and Tak laugh.

Dib and Zim stood back and watched it all happen, Dib tried to hide his smile behind a champagne glass, but Zim laughed openly at them. "Hey Dib, don't worry about Jack anymore, he seems to be taken," Zim informed him with a laugh.

"What? By who?" Dib asked.

"Mau. When Mau bites you for talking to someone, it means he's taken you as his current play toy," Zim explained. Dib observed further and saw how close Jack and Mau were standing. Did Jack even realize he was now taken? Maybe he did and flirting was just a habit. Whatever, Tak was happen, so there was no reason to worry.

Skoodge was taken aback by Mau's attack on Jack, but relaxed, anyone who knew Mau knew they didn't have to worry about Jack's random flirting anymore. Skoodge wrapped an arm around Tak, who was still taller than him and leaned into her. She kissed the top of his head and giggled.

So the party continued, with Jack and Mau dancing with the rest of them. Mau eyed the androids in a paranoid fashion, but in the end didn't decide to kill them. Near the end of the night, Rin sat by Dib and chatted with him on random wedding things that Zim didn't care for. Getting an idea, Zim stood next to Skoodge as they watched Tak dance with Gir. "Hey, Skoodge," Zim whispered.

"Yeah, Zim," Skoodge said, not taking his eyes off of Tak.

"Have you tried the thing humans call sex, yet?" Zim asked, glancing over at Jack for a millisecond in disgust.

"No, I don't think we will either," Skoodge said.

"You should," Zim suggested, "It's…very enjoyable." Skoodge glanced at Zim and smiled.

"Sure," Skoodge said, watching Tak again. The more he thought about it, the better an idea it seemed. They both loved human things, and Tak was usually happy to do anything with Tak. Zim was the thought processes on Skoodge's face.

"You're welcome," Zim said, grinning as he walked off. After Mau dragged Jack off and they left, the party started to wind down, Skoodge and Tak slow danced in the middle of the floor and the androids stood around the snack table looking tired but happy. Zim and Dib were snuggled in a corner, enjoying the moment of peace, when Gaz scared the shit out of them by sitting loudly beside them. Dib looked up to see Gaz staring intently at her game. "I meant it, you know," Gaz mumbled sullenly after several minutes of silence.

"What?" Dib blurted out. Both he and Zim stared at Gaz blankly.

"Morons, all that stupid gushy stuff I said the other day, you know..." Gaz trailed off. Dib did remember now, how Gaz said she loved him, loved them both.

"Oh," Dib said simply. Gaz stayed seated but didn't say anything else. Dib looked at Zim who was staring at Gaz, Dib couldn't read his expression.

Zim's antenna twitched and Dib knew he was thinking pretty hard about this. Dib gripped Zim's hand and waited. Finally Zim's face softened and he looked away from Gaz and down at their linked hands. "Zim is also very thankful for Gaz," Zim said quietly. Gaz jumped, like he'd just shot a gun or something. She looked up from the game without even pausing it first. The sounds of dying were emitted and her Game Over music played.

Gaz stared wide-eyed at Zim. "W-what did you say?" Gaz asked.

Zim frowned. "Do not make Zim say it again."

"Y-You..." Gaz whispered, Dib could see a light come on in Gaz's eyes. "But...what about...everything I've done to you...to you both..."

Zim shrugged. "Zim has done bad things, and the Dib has done bad things. I cannot think of anyone here who hasn't done bad..." Gaz took that in and looked at her hands, setting the game on her lap. She scrunched her forehead and looked to be deep in thought about something. She looked up at Dib and looked him in the eye questioningly.

"Gaz...you're my sister, my only family," Dib said slowly and quietly, trying to sound as heartfelt as possible, "Of course I love you." Gaz's eyes got misty as she gazed at Dib.

"Dib..." She whispered, her voice shaking. Suddenly she leapt up and nearly collapsed into Dib's lap. A loud sob escaped her as she hugged Dib's waist. Dib took Gaz in his arms, shocked that she would show such emotion in public. Dib stroked her hair as she cried, staining Dib's pants. Dib almost worried about Gaz's tears getting on Zim, but he let go of the thought. For now, Gaz mattered more.

Zim shrank back a bit when Gaz started to cry, but he got over it. He'd seen the Earth women cry before. But still, it was Gaz...it just wasn't in her to cry. The other women, they'd been foolish and idiotic, worrying about frivolous things. But that wasn't Gaz. Something huge must have happened to bring her to this state. He remembered seeing her aboard the Massive, looking twenty years older and a hundred degrees colder as well. She seemed more Irken then as well, Zim had always respected her for acting as an Elite Soldier would.

But now, the Gaz he saw before him was very human indeed. And though Dib had always been the one creature he could stand in life, seeing Gaz opened like this...maybe the human race wasn't so bad. Zim felt a strange feeling in his chest, like fire, but more subtle. It warmed him whenever he thought of Dib or Gaz. He knew what this was when associated with The Dib, lurv. He...he lurved Gaz too. His feeling for the two of them...these hyumans...was extremely different, yet very much the same. When he thought of the three of them together, living in some hyuman style house for sure, and making food and living life...it made the warm feeling even bigger, making Zim's insides toasty. Was this...was this familial love? Is this why humans were so eager to procreate...? For this warm feeling that was so easy to inspire?

Zim reached out and touched Gaz's back, rubbing it slightly in a comforting manner. Dib gave him an approving look before turning back to tending to Gaz. Zim took his hand back and watched the two humans. He believed this to be their 'bonding' thing they liked to do. Zim poked Dib in the side of the head before leaving them alone.

He wandered over to the snack table where the androids were all talking animatedly. Two of the female ones, the aqua-haired and brunette, were talking and didn't notice Zim standing nearby, watching a glazed donut with hungry eyes.

"Who do you think is on top?" The brunette, Meiko, asked. The aqua-haired one, Miku, blushed and acted flustered. Zim was sure Keef programmed her specifically to do that.

"M-Meiko..." She stammered, "We shouldn't talk about that stuff."

Meiko, hammered on champagne and standard Irken-issue booze, put her hands up to her mouth and made a loud farting noise. "Who cares Miku, just humor me," she said, wobbling a bit on her feet.

"O-okay..." Miku put her head down and thought it over.

Before Miku could come to a decision, Meiko announced hers. "The human's definitely on top, no doubt." Zim was about to reach for the donut he was stalking when Miku's next words stopped him.

"Totally, Dib is such a man," Miku agreed.

"I bet he rides that alien all night long," Meiko said loudly. Zim snuck up behind the drunken female, and leaned in close to her auditory units.

"Actually, Irkens always ride top," Zim corrected her in a chilling whisper. Meiko froze and Miku gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. Zim enjoyed the look of pure shock and slight horror on their faces. Zim grinned and slowly reached a hand in front of Meiko as though to choke her. Meiko breathed in quick shallow gulps of air. Zim pried her lifted hand open and took her can of Irken alcohol.

Miku shifted and giggled, Meiko blushed with anger. Zim grinned and took a swig of alcohol. Meiko turned quickly and took back her beer and stalked away. Miku giggled again. "She's so hot-headed," She commented.

"Aren't we all," Zim asked rhetorically, enticing another laugh from the android.

…

Nikki watched then all from her cameras, from air vents, waiting for her moment. Kaito slipped back into the security room. "Can't it wait 'til later?" Kaito asked, a scowl adorning his face as usual.

"No, they're so happy now. It's time now!" She started to yell, "They must pay!"

Kaito sighed and sat next to her. "Why are you so hell bent on 'making them pay', dear?" Kaito asked, half-bored, half-concerned.

"Because, that one," Nikki pointed to Gaz, "made me a slave. This one," Dib now, "ruined the greatest prophesy I ever knew. And _he_," Zim, "…_He_ ruined my whole life, right from the beginning. I _hate_ him…I'll make him _suffer_!"

Kaito calmly placed a hand on Nikki's shoulder. "All in good time, love," he assured her.

…

"Hey Red…" Purple called.

"Yeah?"

"Let's go play with our prisoners," Purple suggested excitedly.

"Okay," Red agreed, grinning with the happiness of a child getting ice cream.

"Let's pick from Miyuki's section, she chose fun ones," Purple said happily. Red nodded in agreement. They traveled through the catacombs of torture rooms with thousands of prisoners from all over the universe. Finally they came to Miyuki's section…or the start of it anyway, no one knew how big her section was.

Red made his way to his current favorite prisoner. An Irken who had openly rebelled the Empire. If Red had been ruling then, he would have simply thrown her out an airlock or something. But Miyuki had so loved taking in prisoners, so here the rebel sat. Her purple eyes were glazed over and not staring at anything in particular. Limp, crooked antennae hung over her face as though holding them upright took too much effort. Her pale green skin gave off a sickly aura, a sign she was malnourished. Her entire being had a starved, helpless look to it. It made her seem so fragile, so delicate, thought that was far from how Red handled her.

She was a traitor to the Empire, but that wasn't why he hated her so much. He hated her kindness, the defective emotions she showed. Mostly though, Red hated her for showering a defect with love and attention rather than the best there was like him.

"Hello, Kita," Red called sadistically, enjoying how her whole body shuddered at his mere voice. "Let's have some fun now, hm?" He asked, his voice filled with lust and desire. Kita started to shiver and closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable.

…

Such pain, such unimaginable pain. It flooded his senses and blocked everything else out of his mind. His veins burned with a foreign fire. His whole existence had meant nothing, all that work and dedication ended with a simple gunshot. And now, life beginning again…and the red-haired child. He'd caused this to happen…but why? Why was the child helping him, it seemed so unreasonable.

A loud rush of liquids sounded, distracting him from his thoughts. Chemicals entered his mind, making him incoherent. I remember this, he thought, I remember because….

…

…

…

…

A/N Zomg, this was longer than expected. O.o The third part will be called Eternal. :) It might be updated a lot less often, because I must now concentrate on getting into college, at least that's what I was told -pouts- anyway.

Please Review, it will makes me happy.


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